Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Urban Surface Temperature and Its Relationship with Landscape Metrics and Vegetation Cover in Rapid Urbanization Region

Under the trend of rapid urbanization, the urban heat island (UHI) effect has become a hot issue for scholars to study. In order to better alleviate UHI effect, it is important to understand the effect of landuse/landcover (LULC) and landscape patterns on the urban thermal environment from perspective of landscape ecology. This research aims to quantitatively investigate the effect of LULC landscape patterns on UHI effects more accurately based on a landscape metrics analysis. In addition, we also explore the complex relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and vegetation cover. Taking Zhengzhou City of China as a case study, an integrated method which includes the geographic information system (GIS), remote-sensing (RS) technology, and landscape metrics was employed to facilitate the analysis. Landsat data (2000–2014) were applied to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of LST and LULC. The results indicated that the mean LST value increased by 2.32°C between 2000 and 2014. The rise of LST was consistent with the trend of rapid urbanization in Zhengzhou City, which resulted in sharp increases in impervious surfaces (IS) and substantial losses of vegetation cover. Furthermore, the investigation of LST and vegetation cover demonstrated that fractional vegetation cover (FVC) had a stronger negative effect on LST than normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI). In addition, LST was obviously correlated with LULC landscape patterns, and both landscape composition and spatial configuration affected UHI effects to varying degrees. This study not only illustrates a feasible way to investigate the relationship between LULC and urban thermal environment but also suggests some important measures to improve urban planning to reduce UHI effects for sustainable development.