Land Use Land Cover Change and Its' Influence on Land Surface Temperature: A Case Study of Franklin County, Ohio

Abstract

Abstract In urban places, heat stress has a detrimental effect on human health and is anticipated to intensify in the future owing to global warming. Land surface temperature (LST) helps detect urban heat stress by assessing the interchange of comprised material, energy balance, and information about the physical qualities of the land surface, climatic circumstances, and human activities impacting the environment. Normalized vegetation index (NDVI) is used in LST for identifying long-term variations of vegetation coverage, and these vegetation density changes are the main reason for the differences in LST. So, the study of Franklin County aims to identify the land surface temperature over four years (2015, 2018, 2020, 2021), including the pandemic periods and the impact of NDVI. It helps to determine the reasons for rising temperatures through NDVI, which gives a scientific basis for sustainable urban design and management. LST retains a strong association with NDVI for the complete research region. The study also reveals that above mean and below mean LST have a strong to moderate correlation with the change in NDVI values (above mean and below mean). Various values of NDVI also provide the basis of the strong to moderate relation with LST. It is also observed that the center of the county always has a high LST, though the various location has temperature variation. The heterogeneous landscape around the center of a county may be the reason for and support the changing pattern of the LST-NDVI relationship. This changing relationship was also noticed before and during the pandemic (2018, 2020, and 2021). The outcome of this study provides some key measurement strategies to mitigate land surface temperature and the provision of vegetation, which is very helpful for an urban planner to ensure sustainable development.