Using satellite imagery to track the development of the green belt of Astana, Kazakhstan: A remote sensing perspective on artificial forestry development

The Astana green belt is an artificial forestry project initiated in 1999 to mitigate harsh climatic conditions and improve the local microclimate around Kazakhstan's capital. As part of the master plan of Astana, fields, or “patches” of green belt tree rows were designated for development around the periphery of the city. Using remote sensing techniques, we tracked the spatial and temporal development of the green belt patches over time, from initiation of the forestry efforts until present day. Simultaneously, we assess the effectiveness of these methods in capturing large-scale planned urban forest dynamics and explore how remote sensing can enhance our understanding of the long-term development and management practices of such projects. A temporal segmentation method was applied to identify initial forestry development in each green belt patch. Our findings show continuous planting efforts throughout the study period, resulting in significant greenery expansion. The spatial design was strategic, beginning with a central ring near the city and expanding outward, with planting directions of the tree rows optimized to counter prevailing winds and enhance windbreak functionality. No major areas of vegetation failures were observed. Notably, the current green belt has exceeded the boundaries outlined in the original master plan, indicating a broader scope of development. A preliminary investigation of winter land surface temperature (LST) change in the study area shows overall warming, with more pronounced temperature increases in some of the densely clustered plantations within the green belt.