Analyses of urban landscape dynamics using multi-temporal satellite images: A comparison of two petroleum-oriented cities

Rapid urbanization, as a result of population growth and migration from rural to urban, has been recognized as a critical process in urban areas. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal landscape dynamics using multi-temporal satellite images in two petroleum-based cities: Houston, Texas in the United States and Daqing, Heilongjiang province in China. Both cities expanded rapidly on the basis of the petroleum industries during the last 50 years; however, under different socio-political contexts. Comparing the landscape pattern and dynamics in these two cities, we can identify how the urbanization in these two petroleum-based cities affects the landscape pattern, especially in the natural landscapes. A set of landscape indices with supplementary ecological meanings was chosen to facilitate our analyses of spatial dynamics over a span of 20 years. On the basis of the derived indices, a general trend of landscape change was revealed in these two cities: natural landscapes such as grassland and wetland were degraded or fragmented into a more heterogeneous pattern, while the human landscapes such as residential area expanded greatly by replacing other natural classes.