Relation between vegetation, surface temperature, and surface composition in the tokyo region during winter

Abstract

The effects of vegetation density on the surface temperatures in the urban and suburban areas of Tokyo Metropolis on clear winter days are examined, based on daytime and nighttime images obtained from the Landsat TM. In the urban areas, the effect of vegetation on the surface temperature is relatively small in the daytime. In the less vegetated places of the suburbs, higher surface temperatures are observed in the daytime. In the more vegetated places of the urban areas, lower surface temperatures are observed in the nighttime. The degree of vegetation effect on surface temperature depends on the difference between the percentage of buildings area and that of forests area. In the areas where the buildings area is dominant compared with the forests area, the increase in vegetation, induced by the afforestation or green planting, has a little influence on the daytime surface temperature and lowers the nighttime surface temperature, so that the diurnal range tends to increase. In the areas where the forests area is dominant compared with the buildings area, the increase in vegetation, induced by the afforestation or the green planting, lowers the daytime surface temperature and has a little influence on the nighttime surface temperature, so that the diurnal range tends to decrease.