Investigation of urban biodiversity and factors influencing it based on modern technologies

In the article, the development of the cities of the Shirvan plain, located in the central part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the impact of this development on the loss of biodiversity of the cities were analyzed. Currently, cities, where more than 50% of the world’s population live, are the main reasons for the change of natural landscapes. The development of cities and the intensity of urbanization accelerate these changes. Therefore, our research is dedicated to the current issue. During the research, preference was given to modern methods. Landsat 5, 8 and 9 satellite images of 6 cities located on the Shirvan plain were obtained. As a result of the processing and analysis of these satellite images, the development of the territory and population of the cities was studied, and their effects on the natural landscape, its components, vegetation and water bodies were analyzed. The boundaries of cities in 1975 and 2023 were determined and compared. As a result of the conducted studies, it was determined by the processing of the 1975 topo plans and the 2023 satellite images that the area of the cities has increased by at least 2 times. The high average annual growth of the population has led to the transformation of cities from small towns to medium and large cities in a short period of time. This causes the loss of biodiversity as soon as possible and accelerates this process.