Monitoring and analysis of the expansion of the Ajmr Port, Davao City, Philippines using multi-source remote sensing data

Abstract

Ports have been built or expanded in a number of countries to cater to increasing maritime trade in the 21st century. Port expansion is associated with economic and environmental impacts on the local and regional scales, and these impacts can be studied using remote sensing. The present study presents new results from multi-source remote sensing monitoring of the Ajmr Port expansion. An analysis of land use and vegetation coverage at the port is used to monitor the impact of port construction on the local ecology, while changes in roads, buildings, and lights are used to monitor the economic impact. The results show that: (1) After nine years of expansion, the port area has gradually expanded from the central to the southern coastal area, with an increase of 21.68 hectares during the expansion period. After the expansion, the area of builidings and construction in the study area increased significantly, while the area of water and green areas decreased significantly, indicating that the port construction changed the land use structure of the area. (2) From the perspective of vegetation coverage, the vegetation coverage within 5 km from the port is in good condition. After 9 years, the vegetation coverage in the region between 0.6 and 1 increased from 43.71% to 44.25%, reflecting the higher overall greening level in the region. (3) By analyzing the increase in roads and buildings, it can be seen that the port’s comprehensive transportation capacity has improved, the population of the region has increased significantly. As the scale of construction has been continuously expanded , the prosperity as increased. (4) By analyzing the changes in the light index, the light data from the northeast to the southwest in the region is very obvious, and it is clearly located along the coast, indicating that the economic development of the coastal zone is faster than other regions, and the coastal region has promoted the development of the inland region.