LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT CHANGE MONITORING IN SCALE OF CITY ALONG CHINA-EUROPE RAILWAY EXPRESS WITH A REMOTE SENSING-BASED ECOLOGICAL INDEX (RSEI): A CASE STUDY IN WARSAW, POLAND

Abstract. The China-Europe Railway Express (CER-Express) has developed rapidly since its opening, but little attention has been paid to the long-term ecological environment changes along its route, especially in scale of city. This paper studies the long-term changes of cities along the route before and after the opening of CER-Express. Based on the Google Earth Engine platform, we apply the RSEI model for the cities along the route before and after the opening of the CER-Express from 2010 to 2020. Taking Warsaw, Poland as an example, quantitative analysis is carried out regarding its ecological environment changes and the reasons for these changes are discussed. Experimental results show that the mean values of RSEI between 0.6 and 0.8 before the opening, but declined significantly after the opening, and changed steadily in the later stage. This preliminary research can provide theoretical basis for cities along the CER-Express, protect to the sustainable development of CER-Express and response to the call of Goal 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).