Regional relationships between surface temperature,vegetation, and human settlement in a rapidly urbanizing ecosystem |
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Authors: | G Darrel Jenerette Sharon L Harlan Anthony Brazel Nancy Jones Larissa Larsen William L Stefanov |
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Institution: | (1) School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Rd, Columbus, OH 43201, USA;(2) School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA;(3) School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA;(4) School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA;(5) College of Architecture and Environmental Design, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA;(6) Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;(7) Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77059, USA;(8) Present address: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA |
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Abstract: | Regional climate change induced by rapid urbanization is responsible for and may result from changes in coupled human-ecological
systems. Specifically, the distribution of urban vegetation may be an important intermediary between patterns of human settlement
and regional climate spatial variability. To test this hypothesis we identified the relationships between surface temperature,
one component of regional climate, vegetation, and human settlement patterns in the Phoenix, AZ, USA region. Combining satellite-derived
surface temperature and vegetation data from an early summer day with US Census and topographic data, we found substantial
surface temperature differences within the city that correlate primarily with an index of vegetation cover. Furthermore, both
of these patterns vary systematically with the social characteristics of neighborhoods through the region. Overall, every
$10,000 increase in neighborhood annual median household income was associated with a 0.28°C decrease in surface temperature
on an early summer day in Phoenix. Temperature variation within a neighborhood was negatively related to population density.
A multivariate model generated using path analysis supports our hypothesis that social impacts on surface temperature occur
primarily through modifications of vegetation cover. Higher income neighborhoods were associated with increased vegetation
cover and higher density neighborhoods were associated with decreased vegetation variability. These results suggest that settlement
patterns in the central Arizona region influence regional climate through multiple pathways that are heterogeneously distributed
throughout the city. |
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Keywords: | Phoenix Urbanization Urban heat island Vegetation Path analysis Remote sensing Census Income Population density |
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