GIS-BASED LAND-USE/LAND COVER CHANGE ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF ZHYTOMYR REGION, UKRAINE

Abstract

Today, the deep and wide implementation of geoinformation technologies in the many fields of human activity is due to the powerful development of three scientific and technical components: statistical, software, technical, and space technologies. In this article, based on GIS technologies, an analysis of the state of land use and its changes in the territory of the Zhytomyr Region, as well as the impact of Russian aggression against Ukraine on these processes, was carried out. The structure and the dynamics of the main classes of the land cover of the region for the past 7 years were analyzed, the main causes and consequences of such trends were determined, and the analysis of changes in the land cover was carried out. According to the results of this study, in 2022, 52 % of the territory of the Zhytomyr Region was under forested areas, which consist of two categories: forests and other forested areas. The first category remained unchanged during the studied period since the government system of protection and reproduction of forest resources functions effectively. While the second category significantly decreased due to the fact that firewood is the most available fuel resource for heating buildings, so the population began to harvest wood in the form of felling and clearing old gardens, forested bushes and rivers (irrigation canals), and forest strips. Agriculture of the Zhytomyr Region develops due to extensification. According to Google Dynamic World data, in 2022, 34 % of the territory of the Zhytomyr Region is systematically used for growing agricultural crops. Over the past seven years, there has been a significant increase in cultivated land by 27 %. In the structure of the land cover of the Zhytomyr Region, the grass cover is 4.9 %, but it is gradually decreasing. A decrease was observed for all types of territorial communities until 2021 (10 %annually on average), while, in 2022, the decline slowed down significantly in rural and village territorial communities and stopped in urban ones. This dynamic is connected with two factors: 1) part of the gardens of rural households were sown with grass due to the fact that men were mobilized to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression, and growing grass requires less human costs; 2) Russian aggression caused a shortage of certain food products, and their significant increase in price while keeping cattle provides food for the rural household, so, in 2022, most of the offspring from cattle were not sold and left for further maintenance. In turn, the increase in cattle requires more feed, an important component of which is grass.