Investigating the land surface temperature reaction to the land cover patterns during three decades using landsat data

Abstract

Land use Land cover changes have a momentous influence on land surface temperature. Therefore, investigating spatial distribution of heat islands is a remarkable issue in environmental studies. The purpose of this study was to assess the interaction between land surface temperature variations with land cover change by using Landsat time-series and utilizing Normalized Vegetation Difference Index in Arsanjan County, Fars, Iran from 1987 to 2018. After estimating Normalized Vegetation Difference Index and land surface temperature time-series value in the experimental areas, index differencing technique was applied to identify their changes. Based on the findings, the reducing or rising trends of land surface temperature in vegetation stratums was related to the increasing or decreasing trend of Normalized Vegetation Difference Index from 1987 to 2003 and 2003 to 2018, respectively. Compared to the period 1987–2003, it is noteworthy that the noticeable increase in changed land surface temperature in the rangeland, farmland and Bakhtegan Lake by 18.2 °C, 21.2 °C and 18.3 °C, respectively, were attributed to the significant shift of Normalized Vegetation Difference Index by − 0.04, − 0.33 and + 0.6 in the mentioned area during the period 2003–2018. The correlations between land cover and land surface temperature were considerably positive in the water area by 0.95 and 0.83 from 1987 to 2003 and 2003 to 2018, respectively, while some negative coefficients were estimated by − 0.95 and − 0.94 in farmland in the mentioned period. These results are applicable with regard to managing heat islands by improving the cultivated area, afforestation and artificial Bakhtegan Lake recharge.