Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast Florida

Rapid urbanization has transformed natural landscapes into impervious surfaces, causing widespread land use land cover (LULC) changes in the United States over recent centuries. This study explores the spatiotemporal changes in urban areas and vegetation coverage in the Northeast district of Florida...

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Main Authors: Md Zakaria Salim, Md Hashibur Rahman, Abdulla Al Kafy, Hamad Ahmed Altuwaijri, Md Abdul Fattah, Namit Choudhari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-10-01
Series:Kuwait Journal of Science
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Online Access:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2307410825000975
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author Md Zakaria Salim
Md Hashibur Rahman
Abdulla Al Kafy
Hamad Ahmed Altuwaijri
Md Abdul Fattah
Namit Choudhari
author_facet Md Zakaria Salim
Md Hashibur Rahman
Abdulla Al Kafy
Hamad Ahmed Altuwaijri
Md Abdul Fattah
Namit Choudhari
author_sort Md Zakaria Salim
collection DOAJ
description Rapid urbanization has transformed natural landscapes into impervious surfaces, causing widespread land use land cover (LULC) changes in the United States over recent centuries. This study explores the spatiotemporal changes in urban areas and vegetation coverage in the Northeast district of Florida. Vegetation was the most affected land cover class, declining from 51.39 % in 2000 to 45.82 % in 2022, representing a 5.57 % loss over 22 years. Conversely, urban areas increased by 12.14 %, from 9.90 % in 2000 to 22.04 % in 2022. The most significant land cover transition occurred within the vegetation class, with 10,839 km2 remaining unchanged. However, 2479 km2 of vegetation was converted to urban areas during the study period. At the county level, Duval County experienced the highest urban growth rate at 32.50 %, while Madison County had the highest deforestation rate at 24.74 %. Nassau County had the lowest urban growth and deforestation rates at −3.47 and −4.96, respectively. A moderate positive correlation (r = 0.30) was found between urban growth and deforestation rates, suggesting that other factors besides urban expansion contribute to vegetation loss. These findings highlight the need for policymakers to balance urban development with environmental conservation to mitigate the potential impacts of LULC, such as increased land surface temperature and droughts. The study provides novel insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of urbanization and deforestation in Northeast Florida, emphasizing the importance of sustainable land use planning and management strategies. The developed automated workflow using geospatial techniques in this study demonstrates the potential for efficient monitoring and assessment of LULC patterns, thereby informing decisions for sustainable urban ecosystems
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institution Kabale University
issn 2307-4108
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language English
publishDate 2025-10-01
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series Kuwait Journal of Science
spelling doaj-art-2fba5736af7b456c97d7ca98e48cdddc2025-08-20T03:31:44ZengElsevierKuwait Journal of Science2307-41082307-41162025-10-01524100453https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjs.2025.100453Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast FloridaMd Zakaria Salim0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6225-6296Md Hashibur Rahman1Abdulla Al Kafy2Hamad Ahmed Altuwaijri3Md Abdul Fattah4Namit Choudhari5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0038-0456School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USADepartment of Urban and Regional Planning, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna, 9203, BangladeshDepartment of Geography & the Environment, The University of Texas at Austin, 305 E 23rd St, Austin, TX, 78712, USADepartment of Geography, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Urban and Regional Planning, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna, 9203, Bangladesh; Department of Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USASchool of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USARapid urbanization has transformed natural landscapes into impervious surfaces, causing widespread land use land cover (LULC) changes in the United States over recent centuries. This study explores the spatiotemporal changes in urban areas and vegetation coverage in the Northeast district of Florida. Vegetation was the most affected land cover class, declining from 51.39 % in 2000 to 45.82 % in 2022, representing a 5.57 % loss over 22 years. Conversely, urban areas increased by 12.14 %, from 9.90 % in 2000 to 22.04 % in 2022. The most significant land cover transition occurred within the vegetation class, with 10,839 km2 remaining unchanged. However, 2479 km2 of vegetation was converted to urban areas during the study period. At the county level, Duval County experienced the highest urban growth rate at 32.50 %, while Madison County had the highest deforestation rate at 24.74 %. Nassau County had the lowest urban growth and deforestation rates at −3.47 and −4.96, respectively. A moderate positive correlation (r = 0.30) was found between urban growth and deforestation rates, suggesting that other factors besides urban expansion contribute to vegetation loss. These findings highlight the need for policymakers to balance urban development with environmental conservation to mitigate the potential impacts of LULC, such as increased land surface temperature and droughts. The study provides novel insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of urbanization and deforestation in Northeast Florida, emphasizing the importance of sustainable land use planning and management strategies. The developed automated workflow using geospatial techniques in this study demonstrates the potential for efficient monitoring and assessment of LULC patterns, thereby informing decisions for sustainable urban ecosystemshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2307410825000975urban growthland cover changegeospatial analysisspatiotemporal modelingremote sensingautomated geospatial workflowsustainable land use planning
spellingShingle Md Zakaria Salim
Md Hashibur Rahman
Abdulla Al Kafy
Hamad Ahmed Altuwaijri
Md Abdul Fattah
Namit Choudhari
Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast Florida
Kuwait Journal of Science
urban growth
land cover change
geospatial analysis
spatiotemporal modeling
remote sensing
automated geospatial workflow
sustainable land use planning
title Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast Florida
title_full Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast Florida
title_fullStr Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast Florida
title_full_unstemmed Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast Florida
title_short Automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in Northeast Florida
title_sort automated geospatial workflow for spatiotemporal assessment of urban expansion influence on deforestation in northeast florida
topic urban growth
land cover change
geospatial analysis
spatiotemporal modeling
remote sensing
automated geospatial workflow
sustainable land use planning
url https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2307410825000975
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