PubMed · 2026-05-27
Researchers developed a satellite-based mapping tool that identifies exactly which stretches of an urban riverbank in India need restoration most urgently, pinpointing areas with degraded vegetation, hot surfaces, and invasive plant takeover at fine 10-meter resolution.
36.4% of the studied riverbank corridor fell into high or very-high restoration priority, dominated by bare and paved surfaces, low vegetation, and elevated surface temperatures.
Ground surveys confirmed that high-priority zones had measurably fewer native plant species and greater dominance by invasive plants.
The composite restoration index showed very strong internal accuracy, with a Random Forest model validation achieving R² = 0.97 and RMSE = 0.01 against its own component indicators.