Assessment of desertification areas in Ukraine by estimation of water indexes using remote sensing data

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to substantiate the methodological approaches estimating the moisture content according to the remote sensing data. Water indexes were calculated to identify desertification provided by modern global and regional climate change. The optimal water indexes were selected for desertification in Ukraine. The combined use of Landsat and Terra/MODIS satellites is an effective way to analyze desertification at different spatial levels. Three years (2007, 2015, 2016 corresponding to arid, arid and typical conditions) reveal the spatial features of the drought as a desertification factor. For 2007 and 2015 years, the administrative regions of Ukraine were ranked by humidity level based on Normalized Difference Infrared Index (NDII) from strong moistened to extremely dry territories. Within the administrative regions affected by drought the monetary losses were estimated for agricultural production. The article is focused on reasoning of the most effective water index based on remote sensing data identifying the areas of desertification of Ukraine. Using the proposed methodological approaches, the regional features of increasing drought in Ukraine were studied as a factor of desertification. The territories of Ukraine were ranked on the basis of soil moisture content during vegetation season. The squares of dry regions of Ukraine were estimated for years with different climate conditions.