Dynamics of Heat Island Intensity in a Rapidly Urbanizing Area and the Cooling Effect of Ecological Land: A Case Study in Suzhou, Yangtze River Delta

Jingyi Sun, Haidong Li (), Ruya Xiao, Guohui Yao and Fengli Zou
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Jingyi Sun: School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Haidong Li: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
Ruya Xiao: School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Guohui Yao: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
Fengli Zou: School of Geography and Tourism, Qufu Normal University, Rizhao 276800, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-21

Abstract: Ecological land could play an important function in climate regulation to mitigate urban heat islands (UHIs) and enhance the quality of the living environment. In this work, we chose Suzhou as our case study for urban agglomeration in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), eastern China. In this city, we analyzed the dynamics of heat island intensity from 2000 to 2021 by retrieving land surface temperature (LST). Subsequently, we examined the relationship between the urban thermal environment pattern and land use change, and finally, we explored the cooling effect provided by ecological land. The results indicated that, in 2000, the city’s UHI effect primarily centered around the central urban region as a singular patch; however, since 2014, the patch UHI effect in the central urban region has been mitigated, and the original small hotspots have converged into a large, contiguous expanse spreading outward. As the shift has occurred from low- to high-temperature zones, the proportion of conversion between ecological land has been decreasing, while the opposite trend has been seen for the proportions of ecological land transferred out and for unchanged artificial surfaces. The normalized difference built-up index was found to be the main contributor to the UHI effect, followed by the normalized difference vegetation index. These findings provide novel insights into the regulation of ecosystem services during urban expansion and offer a reference for improving the function of the cooling effect through urban renewal activities and the optimization of spatial planning.

Keywords: ecological land; Landsat remote sensing; land surface temperature; GeoDetector; urban heat island; urban expansion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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