Spatial configuration of anthropogenic land cover impacts on urban warming

2014 ◽  
Vol 130 ◽  
pp. 104-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojuan Zheng ◽  
Soe W. Myint ◽  
Chao Fan
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Urban Warming

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Characterization of Land Cover Impacts on Urban Warming: A Spatial Autocorrelation Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Fan ◽  
Zhe Wang
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Autocorrelation ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Urban Warming ◽  
Green Vegetation ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Land Surface Temperatures ◽  
The Cost

There has been an increasing concern of rising temperatures as cities continue to expand and intensify. Urban warming is having significant impacts on the environment that are far beyond city limits. Understanding the development pattern of the urban heat island (UHI) effect is crucial for making action plans to mitigate urban warming. In this study, we combine multitemporal satellite imagery, spatial autocorrelation indices, and statistical analysis into a spatiotemporal study of the surface UHI effect in the Boise-Meridian metropolitan area. A continuous landscape modeling perspective was taken to quantitatively depict the abundance and spatial configuration of green vegetation and built-up areas at a landscape scale. We aim to (1) evaluate the variations in the land surface temperatures (LST) along the urban–rural gradients of Boise for multiple years, (2) identify the relationships of the LST variations with the land cover variables quantified using the spatial autocorrelation indices, and (3) analyze the changing climate in Boise in conjunction with its urbanization pattern over the last two decades. Results show that the region experienced a significant increase in the LST along with a great expansion of urban areas at the cost of agriculture. The warming effect of built-up areas was greater than the cooling effect of green vegetation, suggesting an urgent need for increasing greenspace in the city. Statistical analyses show that clustered vegetation and dispersed built-up features are beneficial for reducing the LST. Our study presents a spatiotemporal framework for analyzing the surface UHI effect from multiple angles. Scientific findings from this study can help make informed policies against urban warming via optimal planning of urban land cover.

scholarly journals Reintroducing species when threats still exist: assessing the suitability of contemporary landscapes for island endemics

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Nicole Frances Angeli ◽  
Lee Austin Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Land Cover Types ◽  
Habitat Conversion ◽  
Binomial Mixture ◽  
Herpestes Auropunctatus ◽  
Statistical Similarity

Abstract Reintroducing species into landscapes with persistent threats is a conservation challenge. Although historic threats may not be eliminated, they should be understood in the context of contemporary landscapes. Regenerating landscapes often contain newly emergent habitat, creating opportunities for reintroductions. The Endangered St Croix ground lizard Pholidoscelis polops was extirpated from the main island of St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, as a result of habitat conversion to agriculture and predation by the small Indian mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus. The species survived on two small cays and was later translocated to two islands. Since the 1950s, new land-cover types have emerged on St Croix, creating a matrix of suitable habitat throughout the island. Here we examined whether the new habitat is sufficient for a successful reintroduction of the St Croix ground lizard, utilizing three complementary approaches. Firstly, we compared a map from 1750 to the current landscape of St Croix and found statistical similarity of land-cover types. Secondly, we determined habitat suitability based on a binomial mixture population model developed as part of the programme monitoring the largest extant population of the St Croix ground lizard. We estimated the habitat to be sufficient for > 142,000 lizards to inhabit St Croix. Thirdly, we prioritized potential reintroduction sites and planned for reintroductions to take place during 2020–2023. Our case study demonstrates how changing landscapes alter the spatial configuration of threats to species, which can create opportunities for reintroduction. Presuming that areas of degraded habitat may never again be habitable could fail to consider how regenerating landscapes can support species recovery. When contemporary landscapes are taken into account, opportunities for reintroducing threatened species can emerge.

scholarly journals A GIS-BASED TSUNAMI EVACUATION MODEL CONSIDERING LAND COVER AND SPATIAL CONFIGURATION (CASE OF PURWOREJO REGENCY, INDONESIA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Febri Fahmi Hakim ◽  
Walter Timo De Vries ◽  
Florian Siegert ◽  
Joesron Alie Syahbana
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Public Facility ◽  
Least Cost Path ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tsunami Early Warning ◽  
Tsunami Mitigation ◽  
Evacuation Routes ◽  
Survey Responses

In Indonesia, several programs have dealt with tsunami mitigation, such as The German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) project (2005-2011). Despite the success of these projects, many coastal areas in Indonesia are still vulnerable to tsunamis, due to the variety of land cover and spatial configuration characteristics. One of such vulnerable areas includes Purworejo Regency. This paper evaluated the degree to which land cover and spatial configuration characteristics influence the tsunami evacuation process, and thus influence tsunami hazard mitigation. The evaluation drawn on data from a low to medium density populated coastal area of Purworejo Regency. The analysis relied on a quantitative approach, using a cross-sectional field survey, followed by a GIS-based analysis. This is complemented by a raster-based analysis to incorporate the land cover and spatial configuration aspects.  The combined analysis derived which buildings could act as evacuation buildings in case of a tsunami. The associated tsunami evacuation routes were calculated using a Least Cost Path (LCP) analysis method. The results suggested that several public facility buildings are likely to be used as tsunami evacuation buildings. Yet, even though the overall capacity of these buildings is adequate to accommodate the estimated number of evacuees in a larger area, the specific demand at certain locations in the study area is much higher than these localities can handle. This disproportionate spatial variation in required capacity needs further attention. Moreover, the survey responses indicated that the majority of the respondents was not well informed regarding the tsunami evacuation procedures

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Land Cover Changes on Surface Urban Heat Islands with High-Spatial-Resolution Imagery on a Local Scale: Workflow and Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Ren ◽  
Xinxin Zhang ◽  
Haoyan Liang ◽  
Qinglin Meng
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
High Spatial Resolution ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The Impact

Low-altitude remote sensing platform has been increasingly applied to observing local thermal environments due to its obvious advantage in spatial resolution and apparent flexibility in data acquisition. However, there is a general lack of systematic analysis for land cover (LC) classification, surface urban heat island (SUHI), and their spatial and temporal change patterns. In this study, a workflow is presented to assess the LC’s impact on SUHI, based on the visible and thermal infrared images with high spatial resolution captured by an unmanned airship in the central area of the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City in 2012 and 2015. Then, the accuracy assessment of LC classification and land surface temperature (LST) retrieval are performed. Finally, the commonly-used indexes in the field of satellites are applied to analyzing the spatial and temporal changes in the SUHI pattern on a local scale. The results show that the supervised maximum likelihood algorithm can deliver satisfactory overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient for LC classification; the root mean square error of the retrieved LST can reach 1.87 °C. Moreover, the LST demonstrates greater consistency with land cover type (LCT) and more fluctuation within an LCT on a local scale than on an urban scale. The normalized LST classified by the mean and standard deviation (STD) is suitable for the high-spatial situation; however, the thermal field level and the corresponded STD multiple need to be judiciously selected. This study exhibits an effective pathway to assess SUHI pattern and its changes using high-spatial-resolution images on a local scale. It is also indicated that proper landscape composition, spatial configuration and materials on a local scale exert greater impacts on SUHI.

scholarly journals The importance of spatial configuration of neighbouring land cover for explanation of surface temperature of individual patches in urban landscapes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Zawadzka ◽  
J. A. Harris ◽  
R. Corstanje
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Zone Of Influence ◽  
Accuracy Of Results ◽  
Fine Resolution

Abstract Context Relationships between spatial configuration of urban form and land surface temperature (LST) in the excess heat mitigation context are studied over larger tracts of land not allowing for micro-scale recommendations to urban design. Objectives To identify spatial configuration descriptors (SCDs) of urban form and the size of zone of influence conducive to the formation of the coldest and hottest land cover (LC) patches of different types (buildings, grass, paved and trees) from 2 m resolution LC and 2 and 100 m resolution LST maps at two time-steps in the summer. Methods Random Forest regression models were deployed to explain the LST of individual LC patches of different types based on SCDs of core LC patches and patches in their neighbourhoods. ANOVA was used to determine significantly different values of the most important SCDs associated with the coldest and hottest LC patches, and analysis of quartiles informed specification of their ranges. Results Urban form in the immediate neighbourhood to the core LC patches had a strong influence on their LST. Low elevation, high proximity to water, and high aggregation of trees, being important to the formation of the coldest patches of all types. High resolution of LST contributed to a higher accuracy of results. Elevation and proximity to water gained in importance as summer progressed. Conclusions Spatial configuration of urban form in the nearest proximity to individual LC patches and the use of fine resolution LST data are essential for issuing heat mitigation recommendations to urban planners relevant to micro-scales.

scholarly journals Analysis of spatial heterogeneity of land cover classes in different natural conditions

Geografie ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Róbert Pazúr ◽  
Ján Oťaheľ ◽  
Martin Maretta
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Corine Land Cover

The aim of this paper is the analysis of landscape heterogeneity in different natural conditions by identification of the composition and spatial configuration of CORINE land cover classes on the 2nd classification level. The results of the analysis by spatial correlogram and more advanced multi-class indicator and semantic variogram pointed out the limitation of a binary (presence/absence) evaluation. Despite the differences, all approaches revealed that natural conditions determine the occurrence and compositions of land cover classes in different ways.

Characterizing the dominant conditioning factors of urban waterlogging in highly urbanized coastal cities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qifei Zhang ◽  
Zhifeng Wu ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Giancarlo Dalla Fontana ◽  
Paolo Tarolli
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Conditioning Factors ◽  
Coastal Cities ◽  
Urban Topography ◽  
Analysis Scale ◽  
Natural And Anthropogenic Factors

<p>Under the background of global climate change and rapid urbanization, the low-lying coastal cities are vulnerable to urban waterlogging events, which seriously interrupt the sustainable development of society and economy. Urban waterlogging is a stagnant water disaster, which process affected by natural conditions and human activities. Previous studies had explored the effect of land-use type on waterlogging in relatively small watersheds. Few, however, have comprehensively revealed the relative contributions of the natural and anthropogenic factors to urban waterlogging concerning analysis scale variations. What is less known, are the dominant factors and the best analysis scale. The natural and anthropogenic factors such as topography, land cover characteristics (composition and spatial configuration), drainage density, and urban morphology are not comprehensively considered, which leads to some biases. To overcome this limitation, this study aims to investigate the complex mechanism of urban waterlogging by identifying the relative contribution of each influencing factor and the stability linking waterlogging to influencing factors at multiple analysis scales (i.e. 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, 4 km, and 5 km). We consider waterlogging events in the central urban districts of Guangzhou (PR China) from 2009 to 2015 as a case study. A novel method that integrates the stepwise regression model with hierarchical partitioning analysis is presented to quantify the complex relationship between urban waterlogging and influencing factors. Results show that the spatial distribution of waterlogging events in the central urban area presents a strong agglomeration pattern. The waterlogging hotspots are mostly concentrated in the historical area of Guangzhou (Liwan district, Yuexiu district, the northern part of Haizhu district and western part of Tianhe district). Under all analysis scales, urban waterlogging is confirmed to mainly affect by both land cover characteristics (the percent cover of urban green spaces and residential area) and urban topography (slope.std). However, the dominant factor of waterlogging varied noticeably among different analysis scales, which presents a strong scale effect. At a small analysis scale (1km), the urban topography factors (slope.std and relative elevation) are the dominant conditioning factors of urban waterlogging events; however, with the increase of analysis scale, the contribution of topographic factors gradually declines, while the relative contributions of land cover composition (greenspace, residence area, grassland) and land cover spatial configuration (LPI, AI, Cohesion index) are much higher than other factors. These results also reveal that both of the land cover composition and spatial configuration can significantly affect the magnitude of waterlogging, which indicates that even if the proportion of land cover remains constant, changing the spatial distribution pattern of land cover will also affect the magnitude of waterlogging. This finding improves our understanding that urban waterlogging can be alleviated by balancing the composition of land cover as well as by optimizing the land cover spatial pattern. This study extended our scientific understanding of the complex mechanisms of waterlogging in the highly urbanized coastal city with respect to a multi-scale analysis perspective, providing useful support for the prevention and management of urban waterlogging.</p>

scholarly journals Spatial Association of Urban Form and Particulate Matter

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9428
Author(s):  
Yunmi Park ◽  
Jiyeon Shin ◽  
Ji Yi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Land Use Pattern ◽  
The Relationship

Increasingly detrimental effects of fine particulate matter (PM) have been observed in Northeast Asia owing to its rapid economic development. Previous studies have found that dust, combustion, and chemical reactions are the major sources of PM; nevertheless, the spatial configuration of land use and land cover, which is of most interest to planners and landscape architects, also influences the PM levels. Here, we attempted to unveil the relationship between PM and different types of land use cover (i.e., developed, agricultural, woody, grass, and barren lands) in 122 municipalities of Korea. Landscape ecology metrics were applied to measure the spatial configuration of land use pattern and spatial lag models by taking into account the transboundary nature of air pollution, allowing us to conclude the following regarding PM levels: (1) the size of land cover type matters, but their spatial configuration also determines the variations in PM levels; (2) the contiguity and proximity of landcover patches are important; (3) the patterns of grasslands (e.g., simple, compact, and cluster (with large patches) patterns) and woodlands (e.g., complex, contiguous, and cluster (with large patches) patterns) considered desirable for minimizing PM are dissimilar in terms of contiguity.

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