Association of temporal variation of land surface temperature and vegetation cover at the Mount Babor forest area, Algeria: a geospatial modeling approach

• Published in: Modeling earth systems and environment 2024-06, Vol.10 (3), p.4237-4254
• Main Author: Bouchelouche, Asma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemistry and Earth Sciences; Computer Science; Correlation; Distribution patterns; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earth System Sciences; Ecosystems; Environment; Land surface temperature; Landsat; Landsat satellites; Math. Appl. in Environmental Science; Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences; Normalized difference vegetative index; Original Article; Physics; Plant cover; Regression coefficients; Remote sensing; Satellite imagery; Spatial distribution; Statistics for Engineering; Surface temperature; Temporal variations; Vegetation; Vegetation cover
• ISSN: 2363-6203; 2363-6211
• DOI: 10.1007/s40808-024-02027-x

The current study aims to analyze the land surface temperature (LST), and the vegetation cover in the Mount Babor forest (North East of Algeria), and to examine the correlation between these two variables. Satellite imageries Landsat 5 (TM) and Landsat 8 (OLI/TIRS) for the years: 1990- 2000- 2010 -2021 (the summer season) were processed using ArcGIS 10.4 software. The LST data was retrieved from the thermal infrared (TIR) bands of satellite images; while the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was determined by using the near infrared (NIR) and red (Red) bands. The regression technique was used to assess the correlation between the LST and NDVI. This study highlighted an increasing pattern in LST, where the mean LST increased from 25.08°C in 1990, to 29.33°C in 2021, thus an increase of 4.25 °C. Minimal LST also increased from 17.02°C in 1990, to 22.89°C in 2021, thus an increase of 5.87°C, over study period. Temporal variations of NDVI, showed dense and healthier vegetation in 1990, followed by the year 2000 (NDVI 0.756 and 0.749 respectively). However, a decline in NDVI is noted in 2010 and 2021 (NDVI 0.662 and 0.668 respectively). A strong linear negative correlation was observed between LST and NDVI over time, where the regression coefficient was of the order of:—0.73;—0.80;—0.83;—0.76 for the years: 1990, 2000,2010 and 2021 respectively, which present opposite spatial distribution patterns. The loss of vegetation is responsible for the rise in LST, and vice versa. This study will guide future studies on vegetation and temperature monitoring.