Assessing urban biodiversity using remote sensing

Urban green areas can provide valuable biodiversity rich habitats (EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 [1]) while offering healthy spaces and ecosystem services, improving quality of life. The aim of the paper is to analyze the spatial distribution of biodiversity using remote sensing, as well as its interaction with the quality of vegetation. With this objective, the GBIF database is used, from the point of view of biodiversity, as well as Sentinel 2, for the study of urban greenery and its fragmentation in relation to metropolitan green infrastructures. In this case, the study area is the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB). The biodiversity analysis aims to study the intensity and complexity (Shannon information entropy) through citizen science of bird watching, and on the other hand, the vegetation analysis, carried out through NDVI and LAI. An explanatory model (OLS) of the spatial distribution of bird biodiversity has been developed to understand the importance of NDVI-LAI in its distribution. This model incorporates, along with geographic variables (latitude, longitude, and altitude), land transformation variables (land cover, CLC), NDVI and LAI, as well as distance to rivers and other water sources, among other indicators. The model will help to understand the importance of vegetation quality, as well as the fragmentation of urban green spaces, by assessing the role of green space interconnection in the biodiversity of metropolitan ecosystems. Given that the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona is experiencing a progressive reduction in green areas, as well as an accelerated increase in their fragmentation, it is foreseeable that a decrease in biodiversity is occurring. The study's results indicate that soil moisture levels, proximity to watercourses, and the quantity and quality of vegetation are the primary factors influencing biodiversity in the metropolitan landscape of Barcelona. This study provides urban planners and urban and landscape designers with insights to better incorporate and promote biodiversity, particularly bird diversity, in the design and planning of open spaces.