Spatiotemporal patterns of land surface temperature and their response to land cover change: A case study in Sichuan Basin

Abstract

Land surface temperature (LST) is a critical geo-parameter in terrestrial environmental interaction processes, directly related to land cover change (LCC) which modifies surface energy balance. In this study, LST data from 2003 to 2019 were reconstructed in the Sichuan Basin with average R² of 0.85 (daytime) and 0.91 (nighttime), effectively filling in the missing pixels and reducing the noise components. Emerging hot spot analysis (EHSA) and land cover transfer matrix were utilized to analyze the multi-patterns of LST spatiotemporal evolution and responses to LCC. Results indicate that LST hot spots are concentrated in low-altitude basin floor and are dominated by sporadic hot spots. Cold spots are mainly in marginal high-elevation mountains, but the dominant pattern varies with time scale. The largest proportions of hot and cold spots are found in summer (>46 %) and autumn (>29 %), respectively. Moreover, the significant upward and downward trends of LST cold and hot spots are most prominent in western plain and marginal mountains, respectively, and have the largest coverage in summer and autumn, respectively. In total LCC area, cropland-to-forest (CF), cropland-to-impervious (CI), and forest-to-cropland (FC) account for 93.55 %. Among them, CI significantly promotes the aggregation and upward trend of daytime LST hot spots. CF and FC have the strongest effect of aggregating LST cold spots and cooling LST in daytime, with CF being more effective. The information can serve as a reference for regional planning and climate change mitigation measures.