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Abstract

The protection and sustainable expansion of vegetation cover is a key objective for maintaining ecological balance, particularly in rapidly urbanizing coastal regions. This study investigates the dynamics of vegetation on the Absheron Peninsula through the application of remote sensing and geospatial analysis. Multispectral imagery from Landsat 5 (2000), Landsat 8 (2014), and Landsat 9 (2025) was processed to calculate the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) using red and near-infrared spectral bands. NDVI maps were generated and analyzed to evaluate changes in vegetation density, spatial distribution, and ecological conditions over a 25-year period. The results revealed a reduction in areas with dense vegetation cover, accompanied by expansion of sparsely vegetated and degraded zones. Between 2000 and 2014, the most substantial shifts occurred in areas with low values, while from 2014 to 2025, declines were most evident in moderately vegetated regions. Statistical analysis and regionalization of NDVI classes indicated that strongly and intensively transformed areas predominated during the first period, whereas moderate changes became more dominant during the second period. These transformations are largely driven by population growth, rapid urbanization, and industrial development, which intensify anthropogenic pressure in the region. The study emphasizes the importance of sustainable land management, environmental planning, and climate adaptation strategies to mitigate further ecological degradation and to contribute to regional biodiversity conservation and the broader objectives of sustainable urban development. The study reveals that only 5% of the area maintains a satisfactory ecological status, while 20% is in crisis and 6% is in catastrophic state of degradation.

Keywords

Caspian coast, Climate action, NDVI, Remote sensing, Sustainable cities

Subject Area

Biology

Article Type

Article

First Page

3454

Last Page

3461

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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