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The Role of Vegetation in Mitigating Urban Land Surface Temperatures: A Case Study of Munich, Germany during the Warm Season

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  • Sadroddin Alavipanah

    (Professorship of Ecological Services, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
    Department of Geography, Humboldt University of Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 16, Berlin 12557, Germany)

  • Martin Wegmann

    (Remote Sensing Department, Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany)

  • Salman Qureshi

    (Department of Geography, Humboldt University of Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 16, Berlin 12557, Germany
    School of Architecture, Birmingham City University, The Parkside Building, 5 Cardigan Street, B4-7BD Birmingham, UK
    Institute of Sport Science (Sport Ecology), University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, Bayreuth 95440, Germany)

  • Qihao Weng

    (Center for Urban and Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA)

  • Thomas Koellner

    (Professorship of Ecological Services, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany)

Abstract

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is the phenomenon of altered increased temperatures in urban areas compared to their rural surroundings. UHIs grow and intensify under extreme hot periods, such as during heat waves, which can affect human health and also increase the demand for energy for cooling. This study applies remote sensing and land use/land cover (LULC) data to assess the cooling effect of varying urban vegetation cover, especially during extreme warm periods, in the city of Munich, Germany. To compute the relationship between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Land Use Land Cover (LULC), MODIS eight-day interval LST data for the months of June, July and August from 2002 to 2012 and the Corine Land Cover (CLC) database were used. Due to similarities in the behavior of surface temperature of different CLCs, some classes were reclassified and combined to form two major, rather simplified, homogenized classes: one of built-up area and one of urban vegetation. The homogenized map was merged with the MODIS eight-day interval LST data to compute the relationship between them. The results revealed that (i) the cooling effect accrued from urban vegetation tended to be non-linear; and (ii) a remarkable and stronger cooling effect in terms of LST was identified in regions where the proportion of vegetation cover was between seventy and almost eighty percent per square kilometer. The results also demonstrated that LST within urban vegetation was affected by the temperature of the surrounding built-up and that during the well-known European 2003 heat wave, suburb areas were cooler from the core of the urbanized region. This study concluded that the optimum green space for obtaining the lowest temperature is a non-linear trend. This could support urban planning strategies to facilitate appropriate applications to mitigate heat-stress in urban area.

Suggested Citation

  • Sadroddin Alavipanah & Martin Wegmann & Salman Qureshi & Qihao Weng & Thomas Koellner, 2015. "The Role of Vegetation in Mitigating Urban Land Surface Temperatures: A Case Study of Munich, Germany during the Warm Season," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:4:p:4689-4706:d:48496
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    7. Liukuan Zhang & Xiaoxiao Shi & Qing Chang, 2022. "Exploring Adaptive UHI Mitigation Solutions by Spatial Heterogeneity of Land Surface Temperature and Its Relationship to Urban Morphology in Historical Downtown Blocks, Beijing," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-24, April.
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    11. Younha Kim & Seung Man An & Jeong-Hee Eum & Jung-Hun Woo, 2016. "Analysis of Thermal Environment over a Small-Scale Landscape in a Densely Built-Up Asian Megacity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-17, April.
    12. Hong Jin & Peng Cui & Nyuk Hien Wong & Marcel Ignatius, 2018. "Assessing the Effects of Urban Morphology Parameters on Microclimate in Singapore to Control the Urban Heat Island Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, January.
    13. Shahnilla Haider Rizvi & Hira Fatima & Khan Alam & Muhammad Jawed Iqbal, 2021. "The Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity and Urban Expansion: A comparative analysis for the coastal areas of Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 5520-5537, April.
    14. Yaoping Cui & Xinliang Xu & Jinwei Dong & Yaochen Qin, 2016. "Influence of Urbanization Factors on Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity: A Comparison of Countries at Different Developmental Phases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-14, July.
    15. Stefania Bonafoni & Giorgio Baldinelli & Paolo Verducci & Andrea Presciutti, 2017. "Remote Sensing Techniques for Urban Heating Analysis: A Case Study of Sustainable Construction at District Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-12, July.
    16. Jeong-Hee Eum & Kwon Kim & Eung-Ho Jung & Paikho Rho, 2018. "Evaluation and Utilization of Thermal Environment Associated with Policy: A Case Study of Daegu Metropolitan City in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, April.
    17. Jing Kong & Yongling Zhao & Jan Carmeliet & Chengwang Lei, 2021. "Urban Heat Island and Its Interaction with Heatwaves: A Review of Studies on Mesoscale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-26, September.
    18. Musammat Shahinara Begum & Sujit Kumar Bala & A.K.M. Saiful Islam & Debjit Roy, 2021. "Environmental and Social Dynamics of Urban Rooftop Agriculture (URTA) and Their Impacts on Microclimate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-26, August.
    19. Hyungkyoo Kim & Seung-Nam Kim, 2017. "The Seasonal and Diurnal Influence of Surrounding Land Use on Temperature: Findings from Seoul, South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, August.
    20. Haiting Wang & Yuanzhi Zhang & Jin Yeu Tsou & Yu Li, 2017. "Surface Urban Heat Island Analysis of Shanghai (China) Based on the Change of Land Use and Land Cover," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-22, August.
    21. Jong-Hwa Park & Gi-Hyoug Cho, 2016. "Examining the Association between Physical Characteristics of Green Space and Land Surface Temperature: A Case Study of Ulsan, Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-16, August.

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