THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEASONAL CHANGES IN LIGHT POLLUTION AND THE VEGETATION INDEX ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG

Abstract

While the cities become bigger, the reduction of green areas and, in turn, the growth of light pollution in urban areas increases. The world community is concerned about the impact of superfluous artificial lighting on the health of urban people, plants and animals. However, methods for minimizing this effect have not yet been determined. Modern remote sensing data makes it possible to provide the research that was previously poorly studied or with various indicators. The paper presents the results of a study of the Pearson correlation coefficient of two indicators: the vegetation index and light pollution by season for the city of St. Petersburg. The study used data from Landsat-8 and NOAA satellites. Results of the analysis are provided with schemas, diagrams, graphs and tables. In the result of the study, the correlation between the vegetation index and light pollution during the period of absence of stable snow cover in the city was identified. The linear relationship is inverse, which means that while the one variable increases, another one decreases. Supporting reliability of the study, seven green areas were chosen in different parts of the city: Tavrichesky Garden, Sosnovka and Moskovsky Victory Parks, Novoorlovsky, Yuntolovsky and South Coast of the Neva Bay protected areas and Smolensky Cemetery. These territories are touristic, illuminated and have a large green area. During the period of active growth of phytocenoses, an increase in plant biomass is observed, and therefore light pollution decreases. At the end of the growing season, there is an increase in light pollution, which is confirmed by the conducted research.