Land Surface Temperature Regulation Ecosystem Service: A Case Study of Jaipur, India, and the Urban Island of Jhalana Reserve Forest

Abstract

Although Land Surface Temperatures (LSTs) are on the rise globally, the distribution of LSTs varies depending on the land cover type. Urban Heat Island and Urban Cool Island effects act differently, especially in semi-arid regions. Therefore, we identify demi-decadal, seasonal, and zonal differences in LSTs in a semi-arid region in the city of Jaipur, where zones include rural and urban areas that encircle the Jhalana Reserve Forest (JRF). After deriving LSTs from remotely sensed thermal bands of Landsat satellites’ Multi-spectral datasets, we found that there is a significant difference in LST (p < 0.01) among the zones. In addition, LSTs were found to be significantly lower in JRF compared to Urban and Rural areas in all seasons and all study years, which indicates the urban cooling effect due to the presence of the forest. Nevertheless, summer LSTs have warmed with a mean difference of 4.8 °C between 2000 and 2020. Therefore, our study supports the promotion of Urban Forests, especially in semi-arid zones, for inculcating LST regulation ecosystem services to enrich and enhance the standard of living of the human population.