Pattern of cooling benefits from ecospaces during urbanization: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 932; p. 172974
• Main Authors: Yao, Guohui, Li, Haidong, Wang, Nan, Du, Hanbei, Zhang, Longjiang, Liu, Chenwei, Chen, Yicong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Blue-green spaces; Land surface temperature; Landscape pattern; Urban cooling effect; Yangtze River Economic Belt; Blue-green spaces; Landscape pattern; Yangtze River Economic Belt; Land surface temperature; Urban cooling effect
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172974

Urban ecological spaces are effective thermoregulators under global warming. However, the cooling efficiency of urban ecological spaces during the urbanization has not been studied comprehensively. Here, we investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of Urban Cold Island (UCI) intensity in 11 typical cities of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). We determined the impact of ecological landscape trends on these dynamics by using GlobalLand and MODIS 8 d mean land surface temperature (LST) data for three periods (2000, 2010, and 2020), and the landscape pattern index and diversity index. We found that in the past 20 years, the built-up area has increased by sixfold; 62.53 % and 37.47 % of YREB were warming or cooling, with 71.22 % of the daytime cooling and 93 % of the nighttime warming. The average UCI intensity of YREB has increased from 0.518 to 0.847 and is negatively correlated with LST with a decreasing slope. As the UCI intensity of green spaces increased, that of blue spaces decreased. Surface area and landscape pattern are the key determinants of UCI intensity in blue and green spaces, respectively, especially the landscape shape index (LSI). Therefore, maintaining ecological spaces, enriching the structural integrity of green spaces, and improving blue space connectivity can help cities at different development levels cope with heat stress during regional urbanization. [Display omitted] •Sixfold urban area increases in Yangtze River Economic Belt (2000−2020)•The YREB urban agglomeration exhibits spatiotemporal variability in Land Surface Temperature and Urban Cooling Intensity.•Negative correlation: Land Surface Temperature and Urban Cool Island•The cooling effect of blue space depends on surface area, while green space is landscape structure.•Cooling strategies of ecospatial should vary with the stage of urbanization and dominant ecosystem types.