Quantifying the impact of surface and climatic factors on changes in land surface temperature in the Kardeh watershed

Akbari, Maryam; Malekinezhad, Hossein; Hajibigloo, Mahbobeh

doi:10.22059/ije.2025.396399.1872

Quantifying the impact of surface and climatic factors on changes in land surface temperature in the Kardeh watershed

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

¹ Ph.D Student in Watershed Sciences and Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

² Associate Professor, Rangeland and Watershed Group, Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

³ Ph.D in Watershed Sciences and Engineering, Faculty of Rangeland and Watershed, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

10.22059/ije.2025.396399.1872

Abstract

Research Topic: This study used surface and climate data in 2020 to analyze the relationships between LST and driving factors using correlation analysis and spatial regression models.
Objective: The objectives of the present study are: (1) to investigate the spatial variations of LST in the Kardeh River Basin, (2) to measure ^the explanatory power of natural and human factors and their interactions on LST changes, and (3) to determine the appropriate ranges of the main driving factors that can affect the LST of the region. In general, this study uses the Geodetector model to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of LST and investigate the driving factors on this heterogeneity and provides a ranking of the importance of the factors.
Method: In the present study, considering LST as the dependent variable, 9 driving forces including topography (elevation, slope, aspect), land use, vegetation, average annual precipitation, distance from residential area, distance from road and distance from river were considered as independent variables. Then, based on data classification, 21404 random points were generated using the Fishnet feature in ArcGIS and the LST layer and other classified environmental factors were spatially overlapped. Finally, the values of raster cells with the generated random points were extracted and a descriptive table was obtained to determine the correlation between LST and driving parameters and the outputs were implemented in the Geodetector model.
Results: The results show that the changes in LST of the basin are affected by natural conditions and human activities. The average LST in the Kardeh River basin is 33.37 degrees Celsius, which is the highest value in the plains and the lowest value in the highlands and mountainous areas. Therefore, the altitude parameter is the most effective factor on the spatial variability of LST in the study area. According to the results, in the first place, altitude, then land use and average annual precipitation have explanatory power of 43.17%, 31.29% and 21.23%, respectively. The results of the interactive detector analysis showed a two-factor increase for both factors, and the interaction between altitude and land use expressed the highest explanatory power (0.64). Also, the interaction between the altitude factor and other parameters with the highest q value ranged from 0.43 to 0.60. In addition, we determined the optimal range of specific variables that affect LST; Which showed that the low-lying, low-elevation, and shallow-slope areas of the basin are mainly dominated by the intensity of human activities and dryland agriculture and interact with terrestrial factors; as a result, they have the highest temperature.
Conclusions: These findings will help facilitate sustainable management of climate change, analyze surface environmental models and environmental protection, and also improve land management strategies in the Kardeh River Basin and other regions with arid and semi-arid climates.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Ecohydrology

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