Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal Analysis

This study quantifies the potential environmental impacts of the Karakoram highway (KKH) construction, which links the northern region of Pakistan with Western China. The upgrade of the KKH was carried out under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. We examined highway construction&am...

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Main Authors: Bin Zhu, Ahsen Maqsoom, Lapyote Prasittisopin, Chaudhary Danyal Aslam, Umer Khalil, Sahar Zia, Niamat Ullah, M. Abdullah-Al-Wadud, Nazih Yacer Rebouh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10900415/
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author Bin Zhu
Ahsen Maqsoom
Lapyote Prasittisopin
Chaudhary Danyal Aslam
Umer Khalil
Sahar Zia
Niamat Ullah
M. Abdullah-Al-Wadud
Nazih Yacer Rebouh
author_facet Bin Zhu
Ahsen Maqsoom
Lapyote Prasittisopin
Chaudhary Danyal Aslam
Umer Khalil
Sahar Zia
Niamat Ullah
M. Abdullah-Al-Wadud
Nazih Yacer Rebouh
author_sort Bin Zhu
collection DOAJ
description This study quantifies the potential environmental impacts of the Karakoram highway (KKH) construction, which links the northern region of Pakistan with Western China. The upgrade of the KKH was carried out under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. We examined highway construction's spatial and temporal effects on the immediate environment and the ecological revival progressions through remotely sensed images taken at distinct points in time. Here, using a buffer zone of 20 km along the KKH (10 km on both sides), we estimated the before-during-after remote sensing-based factors that relate to the ecology to compute the geographical and temporal variations of environmental effects during the building of the KKH. The outcomes showed that whereas land cover makeup remained broadly consistent in the south of the buffer, it underwent significant changes in the upper portion as we moved more and more towards the north. The buffer region showed clear degradation-recovery trends in the moistness and vegetation states, as evidenced by the normalized difference moisture index (NDMI) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) correspondingly. Meanwhile, the land surface temperature (LST) gradually increased. The maximum relative changes in NDMI, NDVI, and LST were roughly 60%, 40%, and 12%, respectively. According to an Integrated environment quality index, the effects of highway developments on the environment were most pronounced in the immediate vicinity and diminished with distance. This study's method for quantifying highway system disturbances' spatial and temporal changes and subsequent recovery can be easily extended to different geographical areas.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-91b914c3c3ce46d083f736b5d47c60a32025-08-20T03:01:27ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352025-01-01187189720610.1109/JSTARS.2025.354464210900415Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal AnalysisBin Zhu0Ahsen Maqsoom1Lapyote Prasittisopin2Chaudhary Danyal Aslam3Umer Khalil4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1095-3169Sahar Zia5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0629-5423Niamat Ullah6https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4928-0423M. Abdullah-Al-Wadud7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6767-3574Nazih Yacer Rebouh8Department of Fine Arts and Design, Leshan Normal University, Leshan, ChinaGreen Tech Institute, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic, Ben Guerir, MoroccoFaculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, ThailandDepartment of Civil Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad Wah Campus, Wah Cantt., PakistanITC Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, The NetherlandsGeography Department, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), Lahore, PakistanSpatial Decision Support System (SDSS) Lab, National Center of GIS and Space Applications (NCGSA), Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta, PakistanDepartment of Software Engineering, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Environmental Management, Institute of Environmental Engineering, RUDN University, Moscow, RussiaThis study quantifies the potential environmental impacts of the Karakoram highway (KKH) construction, which links the northern region of Pakistan with Western China. The upgrade of the KKH was carried out under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. We examined highway construction's spatial and temporal effects on the immediate environment and the ecological revival progressions through remotely sensed images taken at distinct points in time. Here, using a buffer zone of 20 km along the KKH (10 km on both sides), we estimated the before-during-after remote sensing-based factors that relate to the ecology to compute the geographical and temporal variations of environmental effects during the building of the KKH. The outcomes showed that whereas land cover makeup remained broadly consistent in the south of the buffer, it underwent significant changes in the upper portion as we moved more and more towards the north. The buffer region showed clear degradation-recovery trends in the moistness and vegetation states, as evidenced by the normalized difference moisture index (NDMI) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) correspondingly. Meanwhile, the land surface temperature (LST) gradually increased. The maximum relative changes in NDMI, NDVI, and LST were roughly 60%, 40%, and 12%, respectively. According to an Integrated environment quality index, the effects of highway developments on the environment were most pronounced in the immediate vicinity and diminished with distance. This study's method for quantifying highway system disturbances' spatial and temporal changes and subsequent recovery can be easily extended to different geographical areas.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10900415/China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC)ecological quality index (EQI)highway constructionKarakoram highway (KKH)satellite indices
spellingShingle Bin Zhu
Ahsen Maqsoom
Lapyote Prasittisopin
Chaudhary Danyal Aslam
Umer Khalil
Sahar Zia
Niamat Ullah
M. Abdullah-Al-Wadud
Nazih Yacer Rebouh
Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal Analysis
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC)
ecological quality index (EQI)
highway construction
Karakoram highway (KKH)
satellite indices
title Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal Analysis
title_full Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal Analysis
title_fullStr Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal Analysis
title_short Evaluating the Environmental Impact: A Multisensor Remote Sensing Approach for Spatial and Temporal Analysis
title_sort evaluating the environmental impact a multisensor remote sensing approach for spatial and temporal analysis
topic China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC)
ecological quality index (EQI)
highway construction
Karakoram highway (KKH)
satellite indices
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10900415/
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