The Changes of Heat Contribution Index in Urban Thermal Environment: A Case Study in Fuzhou

Abstract

With the acceleration of global warming and urbanization, the problem of the thermal environment in urban areas has become increasingly prominent. In this paper, Fuzhou was selected to quantify the impact of land use cover change (LUCC) on land surface temperature (LST). The results showed that from 1993 to 2016, the land use/cover types of the study area changed greatly, especially the change of construction land, which led to an obvious change in the spatial pattern of LST. From 1993 to 2016, the spatial and temporal distribution of LST contributions in Fuzhou was uneven. The central urban area had a positive contribution to the rise of LST, while Minqing and Yongtai had a negative contribution. From the perspective of different land use/land cover types, forest or grass land, cultivated land, and water all made a negative contribution to the increase of surface temperature, while construction land made a positive contribution. Outcomes provided by the multi-distance spatial cluster analysis (Ripley’s K function) showed that there was a scale effect in the concentration and dispersion of LST; from 1993 to 2016, the concentration range of LST in the study area gradually expanded and the degree of concentration increased.