Impact Of Land Use Land Cover Change On Seasonal Land Surface Temperature: Case Of Ethiopia, Oromia, Adama City

Abstract

Rapid Urbanization Significantly Alters Land Use And Land Cover (Lulc), Leading To Notable Changes In Land Surface Temperature (Lst) And The Formation Of Urban Heat Islands (Uhis) In Adama City, Ethiopia. This Study, Spanning From 1991 To 2022, Utilized Landsat Satellite Imagery And Support Vector Machine Supervised Classification To Analyze Lulc Changes, Showing A Substantial Shift From Agricultural And Bare Lands To Urban Expansion. Landscape Metrics Indicated Increased Urban Complexity And Larger, Less Fragmented Agricultural Plots .Lst Data Derived From Thermal Bands Using An Emissivity-Corrected Inverted Planck Equation Revealed Dynamic Seasonal Variations. The Kiremete Season Saw A General Decrease In Mean Lst Across All Land Covers, Whereas The Belge And Bega Seasons An Increase In Lst For All Lulc. These Shifts Highlight The Sensitivity Of Lst To Seasonal Changes And Urbanization. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (Ndvi) And Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (Ndbi) Analyses Were Used To Quantify The Extent Of Vegetation And Built-Up Areas. Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (Suhii) Calculations, Performed Through A Python-Automated Process, Revealed A Pronounced Urban Heat Island Effect In Built-Up Areas During Kiremete, Driven By The Higher Lsts In These Densely Built Environments. In Contrast, The Rural Areas During This Season Maintained Cooler Temperatures Due To Soil Moisture Presence In Bare Lands And Agricultural Fields. However, The Trends Reversed During The Belge And Bega Seasons. In These Periods, Agricultural And Bare Lands Exhibited Higher Lsts, Leading To Rural Areas Becoming Hotter Than Urban Areas. This Shift Resulted In A Negative Correlation Between Urban Areas And Lst, Indicating An Urban Cool Island Effect. These Findings Illustrate The Intricate Relationship Between Land Cover Types And Lst, Varying By Season Due To Differences In Land Cover Responses To Climatic Conditions. Regression Analysis Of Vegetation Metrics Edge Density, Patch Density And Frac_Am Demonstrated Significant Cooling Effects, Particularly The Vegetation Fraction (Frac_Am), Which Was Consistently Negatively Correlated With Lst. This Underscores The Importance Of Urban GreeneryIn Reducing Temperature And Enhancing Climate Resilience. The Study Emphasizes The Urgent Need For Integrated Urban Planning And Sustainable Development That Harmonizes Growth With Environmental Conservation, Particularly In Managing Urban Thermal Environments. These Insights Are Critical For Planners, Stakeholders, And Policymakers In Developing Strategies To Mitigate The Adverse Effects Of Rising Temperatures And Urban Expansion, Highlighting The Complex Dynamics Of Suhii Across Different Seasons.