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The development of urban accumulations in recent decades has led to the transformation of urban heat islands (UHI) into regional heat islands (RHI). The contributions of the biophysical, climate, and socioeconomic factors to RHI in urban agglomeration remain poorly understood. Here Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) in eastern China has been selected as a case area to explore the influences trends, of the influencing factors to RHI by using MODIS data from 2003 to 2017. Results showed that, in summer, the area fraction of daytime RHI in YRDUA has increased from 21.74 to 31.03% in 2003 and 2017, respectively. As compared to 2003, the annual nighttime RHI area in 2017 has increased from 7510 to 20,097 km2. The dominant factors of surface RHI intensity (SRHII) showed seasonal variation. Enhanced vegetation index (EVI) (interpretation of 33.27%) was the dominant factor of daytime SRHII in spring. The most important factor was normalized difference build-up density (NDBI) (37.28% and 26.83%, respectively) in summer and autumn. In winter, precipitation (26.16%) was the most influential. At night, Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) had a dominant effect on SRHII in spring (54.12%), autumn (52.62%), and winter (24.19%). The dominant factor of nighttime SRHII in summer was EVI (42%). Moreover, water bodies harm RHI during the day while having a positive effect at night. These findings can provide a theoretical basis for regional environment improvement and regional sustainable development.
Shengzi Chen; Zhaowu Yu; Min Liu; Liangjun Da; Muhammad Faiz Ul Hassan. Trends of the contributions of biophysical (climate) and socioeconomic elements to regional heat islands. Scientific Reports 2021, 11, 1 -14.
AMA StyleShengzi Chen, Zhaowu Yu, Min Liu, Liangjun Da, Muhammad Faiz Ul Hassan. Trends of the contributions of biophysical (climate) and socioeconomic elements to regional heat islands. Scientific Reports. 2021; 11 (1):1-14.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShengzi Chen; Zhaowu Yu; Min Liu; Liangjun Da; Muhammad Faiz Ul Hassan. 2021. "Trends of the contributions of biophysical (climate) and socioeconomic elements to regional heat islands." Scientific Reports 11, no. 1: 1-14.
Accurately locating key nodes and corridors of an urban heat island (UHI) is the basis for effectively mitigating a regional surface UHI. However, we still lack appropriate methods to describe it, especially considering the interaction between UHIs and the role of connectivity (network). Specifically, previous studies paid much attention to the raster and vector perspective—based on standard landscape configuration metrics that only provide an overall statistic over the entire study area without further indicating locations where different types of pattern and fragmentation occur. Therefore, by reverse thinking, here we attempt to propose a new method from the graph perspective which integrates morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA)—which is used to characterize binary patterns with emphasis on connections between their parts as measured at varying analysis scales, and habitat availability indices to evaluate and mitigate regional surface UHI. We selected the Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRDR), one of the most rapidly urbanized regions in the world as the case study (1995–2015). The results of the case study showed: (1) the core (UHI) type accounts for the vast majority of the MSPA model, with the relative land surface temperature (LST) rises, the proportion of the core type will increase, and it could influence the edge (UHI) type significantly; (2) the branch, bridge, and islet (UHI) types have similar results to the lower temperature (4 < Relative LST ≤ 6) area and account for the majority, indicating that these types are more susceptible to their surrounding environment; (3) the importance and extreme importance area (node) from 1995 to 2015 have increased significantly and mainly distributed in the urbanized areas, which means cooling measures need to be implemented in these areas in order of priority. Shifting the research logic of UHI evaluation and mitigation from “patch” to “network”, we hold the point that the method (reverse thinking) has significant theoretical and practical implications for mitigating regional UHI and urban climate-resilience.
Zhaowu Yu; Jinguang Zhang; Gaoyuan Yang; Juliana Schlaberg. Reverse Thinking: A New Method from the Graph Perspective for Evaluating and Mitigating Regional Surface Heat Islands. Remote Sensing 2021, 13, 1127 .
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Jinguang Zhang, Gaoyuan Yang, Juliana Schlaberg. Reverse Thinking: A New Method from the Graph Perspective for Evaluating and Mitigating Regional Surface Heat Islands. Remote Sensing. 2021; 13 (6):1127.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Jinguang Zhang; Gaoyuan Yang; Juliana Schlaberg. 2021. "Reverse Thinking: A New Method from the Graph Perspective for Evaluating and Mitigating Regional Surface Heat Islands." Remote Sensing 13, no. 6: 1127.
The urban heat island (UHI) effect has been recognized as one of the most significant terrestrial surface climate-related consequences of urbanization. However, the traditional definition of the urban–rural (UR) division and the newly established local climate zone (LCZ) classification for UHI and urban climate studies do not adequately express the pattern and intensity of UHI. Moreover, these definitions of UHI find it hard to capture the human activity-induced anthropogenic heat that is highly correlated with urban functional zones (UFZ). Therefore, in this study, with a comparison (theory, technology, and application) of the previous definition (UR and LCZ) of UHI and integration of computer programming technology, social sensing, and remote sensing, we develop a new urban functional zone-based urban temperature zoning system (UFZC). The UFZC system is generally a social-based, planning-oriented, and data-driven classification system associated with the urban function and temperature; it can also be effectively used in city management (e.g., urban planning and energy saving). Moreover, in the Beijing case, we tested the UFZC system and preliminarily analyzed the land surface temperature (LST) difference patterns and causes of the 11 UFZC types. We found that, compared to other UFZCs, the PGZ (perseveration green zone)-UFZC has the lowest LST, while the CBZ (center business district zone)-UFZC and GCZ (general commercial zone)-UFZC contribute the most and stable heat sources. This implies that reducing the heat generated by the function of commercial (and industrial) activities is an effective measure to reduce the UHI effect. We also proposed that multi-source temperature datasets with a high spatiotemporal resolution are needed to obtain more accurate results; thus providing more accurate recommendations for mitigating UHI effects. In short, as a new and finer urban temperature zoning system, although UFZC is not intended to supplant the UR and LCZ classifications, it can facilitate more detailed and coupled urban climate studies.
Zhaowu Yu; Yongcai Jing; Gaoyuan Yang; Ranhao Sun. A New Urban Functional Zone-Based Climate Zoning System for Urban Temperature Study. Remote Sensing 2021, 13, 251 .
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Yongcai Jing, Gaoyuan Yang, Ranhao Sun. A New Urban Functional Zone-Based Climate Zoning System for Urban Temperature Study. Remote Sensing. 2021; 13 (2):251.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Yongcai Jing; Gaoyuan Yang; Ranhao Sun. 2021. "A New Urban Functional Zone-Based Climate Zoning System for Urban Temperature Study." Remote Sensing 13, no. 2: 251.
Landscape preference (LP) studies highlight one of the most important issues of the human-environment relationship, and their related publications have increased rapidly over the last two decades. However, there is no systematic review with a holistic understanding of this field. In this study, we applied a bibliometric approach to examine the evolution of LP research and identify its status and future prospects. We obtained 7,637 LP research publications from the core Web of Science collection from 1968 to 2019 and analyzed the characteristics of publication outputs as well as performances in various countries and institutions. In addition, content keywords analysis was conducted to discover the drivers, focus, motivation, and trends of LP research. We found that 1) publications, subject categories, and active journals increased rapidly since the 2000s, with Landscape and Urban Planning as the most influential journal in the field; 2) the USA, England, and Australia are the leading countries in LP research, while China is starting to have some influence; 3) LP research is most closely linked to ecological and environmental studies, being developed by objective drivers, i.e., interactions with landscape change, and subjective motivations, i.e., implications for planning and management; and 4) LP research is advancing the landscape sustainability science, integrating natural and social science together through ecosystem services. By comprehensively reviewing the evolution and prospect of LP research, we provide insights for further research in this field.
Gaoyuan Yang; Zhaowu Yu; Jinguang Zhang; Lone Søderkvist Kristensen. From preference to landscape sustainability: a bibliometric review of landscape preference research from 1968 to 2019. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability 2021, 7, 1 .
AMA StyleGaoyuan Yang, Zhaowu Yu, Jinguang Zhang, Lone Søderkvist Kristensen. From preference to landscape sustainability: a bibliometric review of landscape preference research from 1968 to 2019. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability. 2021; 7 (1):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGaoyuan Yang; Zhaowu Yu; Jinguang Zhang; Lone Søderkvist Kristensen. 2021. "From preference to landscape sustainability: a bibliometric review of landscape preference research from 1968 to 2019." Ecosystem Health and Sustainability 7, no. 1: 1.
Urban green space (UGS) is often unevenly distributed in cities, which raises the issue of green justice. Previous studies have focused on evaluating the disparities in UGS provision across urban-rural gradients and inequities among heterogeneous social groups. However, few studies have considered the built environments in communities despite the potential for unprecedented rates of urbanization to exacerbate the living environment disparity within cities. Here, we assessed the disparities in UGS provision in communities with diverse built environments using a systematic framework incorporating availability, proximity, and desirability metrics. Specifically, we classified communities into six levels based on their spatial features such as patterns of development, scale, population density, and ‘green’ assets (e.g., private garden and tree-canopy coverage). Lorenz curves and the Gini index were employed to evaluate inequity, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine the significant differences among different levels of community. Yangzhou city, China, was selected as a study case, and the results indicate that: (1) UGS is unevenly distributed, and communities located in the urban periphery have lower UGS provision; (2) Serious inequities in UGS provision are demonstrated, with a small proportion of the population having the greatest level of provision; (3) Significant disparities in UGS provision among different levels of community are revealed; generally, residents living in communities with a well-maintained ‘green’ assets enjoy access to more major public UGS. Our study provides a novel perspective on quantifying UGS provision inequities. It can help guide decision-makers and planners to accurately target vulnerable groups (communities) and formulate effective policies and strategies to address green injustice.
Jinguang Zhang; Zhaowu Yu; Yingyi Cheng; Caijie Chen; Yi Wan; Bing Zhao; Henrik Vejre. Evaluating the disparities in urban green space provision in communities with diverse built environments: The case of a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city. Building and Environment 2020, 183, 107170 .
AMA StyleJinguang Zhang, Zhaowu Yu, Yingyi Cheng, Caijie Chen, Yi Wan, Bing Zhao, Henrik Vejre. Evaluating the disparities in urban green space provision in communities with diverse built environments: The case of a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city. Building and Environment. 2020; 183 ():107170.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJinguang Zhang; Zhaowu Yu; Yingyi Cheng; Caijie Chen; Yi Wan; Bing Zhao; Henrik Vejre. 2020. "Evaluating the disparities in urban green space provision in communities with diverse built environments: The case of a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city." Building and Environment 183, no. : 107170.
Considerable specific cross-sectional and review studies have linked exposure to green spaces to improving public health, but there is no bibliometric review attempting to systemically and retrospectively analyze these existing articles. Here we aim to uncover global research status, trends, and future prospects in green spaces and health (G-H) research then propose a framework for the underlying mechanisms and pathways that link green space to public health. We obtained 18,961 G-H research publications from the core Web of Science collection from 1901 to 2019, analyzing the characteristics of publication outputs, key scientific disciplines, and differences in performance between countries and institutions. Besides, content analysis was conducted to analyze the keywords, including keyword co-occurrence analysis and keyword clustering analysis. We found: 1) a steady quantitative increase in publications, active journals, and involved countries and institutions since the 1990s; 2) a significant increase and changes in G-H related interdisciplinary categories, with environment-related disciplines becoming the mainstream; 3) research focus and trends that were identified based on the analysis of high-frequency co-occurring keywords; 4) three main knowledge domains, namely, green spaces and physical health, mental health, and ecosystem health, that were identified and visualized based on keyword clustering analysis; 5) a framework of underlying mechanisms and pathways linking green space to public health that is proposed based on visualization of the three main knowledge domains. We suggest that the main challenge of G-H research is to further clarify in-depth the underlying mechanisms and pathways from multiple perspectives, including multiple nations, disciplines, and study designs. The lack of co-occurring keywords and clustering information related to social well-being suggests that research related to "social health" is lacking. Based on a clear understanding of the quantity, quality, and characteristics of green space for public health, a health-based environmental plan should be proposed in the future.
Jinguang Zhang; Zhaowu Yu; Bing Zhao; Ranhao Sun; Henrik Vejre. Links between green space and public health: a bibliometric review of global research trends and future prospects from 1901 to 2019. Environmental Research Letters 2020, 15, 063001 .
AMA StyleJinguang Zhang, Zhaowu Yu, Bing Zhao, Ranhao Sun, Henrik Vejre. Links between green space and public health: a bibliometric review of global research trends and future prospects from 1901 to 2019. Environmental Research Letters. 2020; 15 (6):063001.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJinguang Zhang; Zhaowu Yu; Bing Zhao; Ranhao Sun; Henrik Vejre. 2020. "Links between green space and public health: a bibliometric review of global research trends and future prospects from 1901 to 2019." Environmental Research Letters 15, no. 6: 063001.
Cooling energy consumption in urban areas is affected significantly by the dynamics of urban heat flux. However, we still lack a clear understanding of the quantitative contribution rate and underlying mechanism of typical urban landscapes to urban heat dynamics, especially in seasonal and diurnal patterns. Here we used a thermal infrared camera and portable meteorological instruments to examine the sensible heat flux (SHF) changes of five typical urban landscapes in Beijing based on surface temperature and concurrent microclimate conditions. Diurnal and seasonal variations of SHF were quantified by comparing changes in forenoon and afternoon in different seasons. Results showed that (1) walls and roads act as heat-source, while forests and water act as heat-sink in all seasons; however, grassland served as heat-sink in summer and spring-autumn, but it becomes a heat-source in winter. (2) The seasonal variation of sensible heat flux of the wall is the greatest, followed by water, while that of trees is the smallest. Besides, the highest sensible heat flux and the maximum variation among typical urban landscapes occur between noon and 2:00 pm. (3) The numerical contribution rate of typical landscapes to sensible heat flux varies with daytime (forenoon and afternoon) and seasonal changes, and these ratios can be used as parameters to adjust the numerical models to obtain more reliable results in surface-energy-flux-related studies. The results of this study can provide a reference for explaining controversial findings based on remote-sensing data, and provide insights into revealing the sensible heat flux mechanism of typical urban landscapes and cooling energy conservation in cities.
Zhaowu Yu; Tingting Chen; Gaoyuan Yang; Ranhao Sun; Wei Xie; Henrik Vejre. Quantifying seasonal and diurnal contributions of urban landscapes to heat energy dynamics. Applied Energy 2020, 264, 114724 .
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Tingting Chen, Gaoyuan Yang, Ranhao Sun, Wei Xie, Henrik Vejre. Quantifying seasonal and diurnal contributions of urban landscapes to heat energy dynamics. Applied Energy. 2020; 264 ():114724.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Tingting Chen; Gaoyuan Yang; Ranhao Sun; Wei Xie; Henrik Vejre. 2020. "Quantifying seasonal and diurnal contributions of urban landscapes to heat energy dynamics." Applied Energy 264, no. : 114724.
Urban green infrastructure (UGI) has been recognized as a promising approach to mitigating urban heat island (UHI); however, most of the previous studies are case-based and explore the effects of the existent landscape and its spatial configuration on UHI mitigation rather than modeling an optimized spatial pattern. We aimed to transcend the existing research logic (from case studies to obtain the patterns of the cooling effect of UGI, then propose implications for UHI mitigation) and established a hypothetical idealized urban thermal security pattern model (TSPurban). Based on two basic concepts deduced from the physical property of UGI—(threshold) size and cooling distance, as well as the simplifying assumptions we defined. Then, three proposed conceptual UGI types (ecological, efficient, and elementary—3E) and subtypes were used to frame the model. We deduced that the idealized TSPurban model conforms to a hierarchical hexagonal structure in theory and it can be calculated and applied, although it generally cannot be seen in the real world. The idealized TSPurban model can help us better-understanding UGI cooling effects when considering climate adaption planning and decision-making; it also serves as a novel pathway to study the cooling effects of UGI and mitigate the UHI effect.
Zhaowu Yu; Ole Fryd; Ranhao Sun; Gertrud Jørgensen; Gaoyuan Yang; Nevruz Cinar Özdil; Henrik Vejre. Where and how to cool? An idealized urban thermal security pattern model. Landscape Ecology 2020, 36, 2165 -2174.
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Ole Fryd, Ranhao Sun, Gertrud Jørgensen, Gaoyuan Yang, Nevruz Cinar Özdil, Henrik Vejre. Where and how to cool? An idealized urban thermal security pattern model. Landscape Ecology. 2020; 36 (7):2165-2174.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Ole Fryd; Ranhao Sun; Gertrud Jørgensen; Gaoyuan Yang; Nevruz Cinar Özdil; Henrik Vejre. 2020. "Where and how to cool? An idealized urban thermal security pattern model." Landscape Ecology 36, no. 7: 2165-2174.
The cooling effect of blue-green space has been recognized as a promising approach to mitigate the urban heat island (UHI), while the quantitative role (threshold-size for cooling) is still uncertain. This paper aims to present the latest progress and controversies on the studies of the cooling effects of waterbodies, greenspaces, and parks. In order to do this research, international search engines were employed to systematically search peer-reviewed articles, including the cooling effect of blue-green space and threshold-size-based UHI mitigation studies. After that, the inductive analysis is used to analyze the relevant literature. We found that previous studies concentrated on the correlations between different landscape types, temperature variations and the quantification of cooling intensity, etc. However, threshold-size-based research has received less attention, which limits the ability to make specific recommendations for actionable planning and management – usingthe smallest blue-green space for the best cooling effect. The review also revealed the controversies over the effects of blue-green space size, shape, landscape composition and configuration on cooling effect. Besides, we pointed out that the uncertainties (i.e., the optimal proportion of blue-green space in a park) and the reasons of controversial results of the cooling effect need to be further investigated. We also suggested that more attention should be paid to quantify the contributions of local background climate and landscape characteristics to the cooling effect (threshold-size) of blue-green space. This review would give us a deeper understanding of the field and provide insights into actionable climate adaption planning.
Zhaowu Yu; Gaoyuan Yang; Shudi Zuo; Gertrud Jørgensen; Motoya Koga; Henrik Vejre. Critical review on the cooling effect of urban blue-green space: A threshold-size perspective. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 2020, 49, 126630 .
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Gaoyuan Yang, Shudi Zuo, Gertrud Jørgensen, Motoya Koga, Henrik Vejre. Critical review on the cooling effect of urban blue-green space: A threshold-size perspective. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 2020; 49 ():126630.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Gaoyuan Yang; Shudi Zuo; Gertrud Jørgensen; Motoya Koga; Henrik Vejre. 2020. "Critical review on the cooling effect of urban blue-green space: A threshold-size perspective." Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 49, no. : 126630.
Urban natural surfaces and non-surface human activities are key factors determining the urban heat island (UHI), but their relative importance remains highly controversial and may vary at different spatial scales and focal urban systems. However, systematic studies on the scale-dependency system-specificity remain largely lacking. Here, we selected 32 major Chinese cities as cases and used Landsat 8 images to retrieve land surface temperature (LST) and quantify natural surface variables using point of interest (POI) data as a measure of the human activity variable and using multiple regression and relative weight analysis to study the contribution and relative importance of these factors to LST at a range of grain sizes (0.25–5 km) and spatial extents (20–60 km). We revealed that the contributions and relative importance of natural surfaces and human activities are largely scale-dependent and system-specific. Natural surfaces, especially vegetation cover, are often the most important UHI determinants for a majority of scales, but the importance of non-surface human activities is increasingly pronounced at a coarser spatial scale with respect to both grain and spatial extent. The scaling relations of the UHI determinants and their relative importance were mostly linear-like at the city-collective level, but highly diverse across individual cities, so reducing non-surface heat emissions could be the most effective measure in particular cases, especially at relatively large spatial scales. This study advances the understanding of UHI formation mechanisms and highlights the complexity of the scale issue underpinning the UHI effect.
Xiali Luan; Zhaowu Yu; Yuting Zhang; Sheng Wei; Xinyu Miao; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Shuqing N. Teng; Chi Xu. Remote Sensing and Social Sensing Data Reveal Scale-Dependent and System-Specific Strengths of Urban Heat Island Determinants. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 391 .
AMA StyleXiali Luan, Zhaowu Yu, Yuting Zhang, Sheng Wei, Xinyu Miao, Zheng Y. X. Huang, Shuqing N. Teng, Chi Xu. Remote Sensing and Social Sensing Data Reveal Scale-Dependent and System-Specific Strengths of Urban Heat Island Determinants. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (3):391.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiali Luan; Zhaowu Yu; Yuting Zhang; Sheng Wei; Xinyu Miao; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Shuqing N. Teng; Chi Xu. 2020. "Remote Sensing and Social Sensing Data Reveal Scale-Dependent and System-Specific Strengths of Urban Heat Island Determinants." Remote Sensing 12, no. 3: 391.
Jinguang Zhang; Zhaowu Yu; Bing Zhao. IMPACT MECHANISM OF URBAN GREEN SPACES IN PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND INSPIRATION FOR PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES. Landscape Architecture Frontiers 2020, 8, 104 -113.
AMA StyleJinguang Zhang, Zhaowu Yu, Bing Zhao. IMPACT MECHANISM OF URBAN GREEN SPACES IN PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND INSPIRATION FOR PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES. Landscape Architecture Frontiers. 2020; 8 (4):104-113.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJinguang Zhang; Zhaowu Yu; Bing Zhao. 2020. "IMPACT MECHANISM OF URBAN GREEN SPACES IN PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND INSPIRATION FOR PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES." Landscape Architecture Frontiers 8, no. 4: 104-113.
Climate change has increased the frequency of extreme climatic events and the intensity of heatwaves in high-latitude cities that have rarely been affected in the past, yet there is less attention to these regions. Therefore, we selected Copenhagen as the case, we used spatial/statistical methods to assess the cooling-effect of blue-green spaces in different seasons. We found (1) land surface temperature (LST) is negatively correlated with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) in all seasons; (2) Tree-covered greenspace with a compact shape would be a priority for climate adaption in high-latitude cities. While when the area of blue-green space is large to a certain extent (>1 ha), the complex shape also has a strong cooling-effect. Further, the area and cooling extent and intensity conform a logarithm function with significant correlations except for winter. (3) Compared with other seasons, blue-green space provides a higher cooling-effect in summer, and the mean cooling extent and intensity are 150 m and 2.47℃; (4) Background temperature can significantly affect the threshold value of efficiency (TVoE). The results of this study expand the understanding of the cooling-effect of blue-green spaces and provide implications for sustainable urban planning.
Gaoyuan Yang; Zhaowu Yu; Gertrud Jørgensen; Henrik Vejre. How can urban blue-green space be planned for climate adaption in high-latitude cities? A seasonal perspective. Sustainable Cities and Society 2019, 53, 101932 .
AMA StyleGaoyuan Yang, Zhaowu Yu, Gertrud Jørgensen, Henrik Vejre. How can urban blue-green space be planned for climate adaption in high-latitude cities? A seasonal perspective. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2019; 53 ():101932.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGaoyuan Yang; Zhaowu Yu; Gertrud Jørgensen; Henrik Vejre. 2019. "How can urban blue-green space be planned for climate adaption in high-latitude cities? A seasonal perspective." Sustainable Cities and Society 53, no. : 101932.
The comprehensive management of ecosystem service benefits and losses provided by landscapes under land-use reorganization is essential for optimizing and regulating landscape patterns and ecological conservation under rapid urbanization. Of the many studies focusing on the quantification and visualization of ecosystem services, few have explored the visualization characteristics of the different scales related to ecosystem services and losses. In this study, we selected one of the most important urban agglomerations in China—the Yangtze River Delta (YRD)—as a case for the analysis of ecosystem service benefits (which include environmental purification, climate and air regulation, and tourism and leisure) and losses (pollen allergies, air pollution, and the heat island effect) and the spatial patterns of both at multiple scales (grid divisions, administrative districts, and functional areas). We found that the value of ecosystem service losses in the YRD, with a net value of approximately −$42.02 × 106, was slightly higher than the value of ecosystem service benefits. The patterns of ecosystem service benefits were consistent with urbanization processes and patterns, with the natural landscape always serving as the main provider of ecosystem service benefits while the spatial pattern of the urbanized landscape determined the ecosystem service losses. Based on K-means clustering using randomly selected objects as an initial cluster center, we divided the YRD into different functional areas (optimized-, key-, and restricted-development zones) within the grid to create divisions with consistent biophysical properties, thereby avoiding the impact of urban administrative boundaries on the results. To facilitate closing the gap between positive and negative ecosystem outcomes in a politically feasible manner, we also identified functional areas in terms of ecosystem service bundles at the administrative district scale. This study obtains quantitative knowledge of functional areas based on ecosystem services benefits and losses, and helps guide sustainable urban agglomeration planning and development.
Jing Gao; Zhaowu Yu; Lucang Wang; Henrik Vejre. Suitability of regional development based on ecosystem service benefits and losses: A case study of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, China. Ecological Indicators 2019, 107, 105579 .
AMA StyleJing Gao, Zhaowu Yu, Lucang Wang, Henrik Vejre. Suitability of regional development based on ecosystem service benefits and losses: A case study of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, China. Ecological Indicators. 2019; 107 ():105579.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJing Gao; Zhaowu Yu; Lucang Wang; Henrik Vejre. 2019. "Suitability of regional development based on ecosystem service benefits and losses: A case study of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, China." Ecological Indicators 107, no. : 105579.
Urbanization has significantly transformed natural surfaces into impervious surfaces, which has subsequently disturbed the balance of the global surface thermal energy. However, key landscape dynamic transfer processes that can affect land surface temperature (LST) and regional thermal environment (RTE) remain poorly understood, especially in the context of urban agglomerations. Hence we selected one of the world's most rapidly urbanized regions – the Pearl-River-Delta Metropolitan Region (PRDR) located in southern China as the case. With the help of Google Cloud Computing, Markov model, and spatial analyses, we have further quantified the strong contributions of urbanization and urban agglomeration development to RTE dynamics and evolution. Specifically, we revealed (1) the cooling effects of ecological land loss and gain are significantly different, which provides evidence that the existing natural ecosystems (especially forests) are valuable for climatic adaptation because newly constructed ecological land does not provide the same cooling effect. (2) We found that the RTE is not only influenced by land cover patterns and process but also significantly dominated by the specific land conversion processes. (3) From 1995 to 2015 in the PRDR, built-up land increased significantly, while the ecological land was significantly reduced, and the isolated urban heat islands were gradually connected and interacted with each other, forming the regional heat island. (4) We also proposed that the relationship between urbanization rate and temperature (RLST) may conform to the Environmental Kuznets Curve. This study enhances the understanding of RTE dynamics and evolution in urban agglomeration and provides important insights into existing natural ecosystem protection and climate adaptation planning.
Zhaowu Yu; Yawen Yao; Gaoyuan Yang; Xiangrong Wang; Henrik Vejre. Strong contribution of rapid urbanization and urban agglomeration development to regional thermal environment dynamics and evolution. Forest Ecology and Management 2019, 446, 214 -225.
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Yawen Yao, Gaoyuan Yang, Xiangrong Wang, Henrik Vejre. Strong contribution of rapid urbanization and urban agglomeration development to regional thermal environment dynamics and evolution. Forest Ecology and Management. 2019; 446 ():214-225.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Yawen Yao; Gaoyuan Yang; Xiangrong Wang; Henrik Vejre. 2019. "Strong contribution of rapid urbanization and urban agglomeration development to regional thermal environment dynamics and evolution." Forest Ecology and Management 446, no. : 214-225.
Urban agglomeration has become the most salient feature of global urbanization in recent decades, while spatiotemporal patterns and evolution remain poorly understood in urban agglomerations, which limit the decision-makers to make more informed decisions to improve the regional environment. Here we selected one of the most rapidly urbanized regions in the world – Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRDR), located in southern China, as the case. Landsat images spanning from 1995 to 2015 were used to retrieve land surface temperature (LST). Four types of regional heat island (RHI) degree were defined for further analysis. Then multi-scale spatiotemporal patterns and characteristics of RHI were identified with the help of cloud-based computing, spatial and landscape analysis. We found that (1) traditional urban heat island (UHI) appears as an RHI on an urban agglomeration scale. In PRDR, we found RHI expended with increasing connectivity, especially in the estuary areas where isolated UHI gradually merged during the rapid urbanization. (2) The contribution of main cities in PRDR to RHI and the evolutionary trends and pattern, which is changed from a west-east to a southwest-northeast gradient, have been revealed. (3) Considering the scale effect and different RHI categories, we revealed that during the urbanization, the aggregation of the RHI is significant on a larger-scale, and the area of 4 °C ≤ Relative LST ≤ 8 °C is the stable and high-risk area, which provide scientific bases for the governance of the thermal environment on the regional scale. (4) The study also indicates the cooling effect of forests and water is better than that of grassland, while the cooling effect of grassland is uncertain. The methods and results of this study not only have implications on environmental planning and management in the PRDR but also provide useful insights into the thermal environment research and practice in other urban agglomerations.
Zhaowu Yu; Yawen Yao; Gaoyuan Yang; Xiangrong Wang; Henrik Vejre. Spatiotemporal patterns and characteristics of remotely sensed region heat islands during the rapid urbanization (1995–2015) of Southern China. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 674, 242 -254.
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Yawen Yao, Gaoyuan Yang, Xiangrong Wang, Henrik Vejre. Spatiotemporal patterns and characteristics of remotely sensed region heat islands during the rapid urbanization (1995–2015) of Southern China. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 674 ():242-254.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Yawen Yao; Gaoyuan Yang; Xiangrong Wang; Henrik Vejre. 2019. "Spatiotemporal patterns and characteristics of remotely sensed region heat islands during the rapid urbanization (1995–2015) of Southern China." Science of The Total Environment 674, no. : 242-254.
The photo color is recognised as one of the most significant but not fully understood factors influencing the results of landscape preference research. In this context, this paper compares the performances of three photo color schemes (original, rendered and white-black color schemes) frequently used in landscape preference tests to figure out which is the more suitable alternative to an original color photo. Statistics analysis results demonstrated that: 1) In general, the photo color schemes particularly the white-black scheme will significantly affect the results of landscape preference test. Compared with white-black, color in any other forms can increase the degree of preference for a given landscape. 2) The photo color scheme plays a decisive role in respondent’s judgment on some landscape attributes. Original color, White-black color and Rendered color schemes are better suited in landscape preference tests that highlight the effect of color, characteristic and naturalness respectively. 3) When the Rendered color scheme is used as an alternative to the Original color scheme, it has a much better performance than the White-black Color Scheme and is therefore recommended as the prior alternative color scheme to the Original color scheme under most scenarios in landscape preference research. Based on these results, it is suggested that color should be more carefully treated according to its different performance in landscape cognition research.
Tao Luo; Min Xu; Zhifang Wang; Zhaowu Yu. A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THREE COLOR SCHEMES IN LANDSCAPE PREFERENCE TESTS. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management 2019, 27, 114 -125.
AMA StyleTao Luo, Min Xu, Zhifang Wang, Zhaowu Yu. A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THREE COLOR SCHEMES IN LANDSCAPE PREFERENCE TESTS. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management. 2019; 27 (2):114-125.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTao Luo; Min Xu; Zhifang Wang; Zhaowu Yu. 2019. "A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THREE COLOR SCHEMES IN LANDSCAPE PREFERENCE TESTS." Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management 27, no. 2: 114-125.
Urban areas typically experience higher temperatures compared to surrounding rural areas that is known as the urban heat island effect (UHI). Urban greenery is capable of mitigating the UHI by creating microclimates that are lower in temperature than their surroundings, which are known as urban cooling islands (UCI). Previous studies have proved the effectiveness of UCI from different perspectives. However, a specific optimal level of landscape patch size at a regional scale that can be implemented by urban planners has not been identified. In this study, we estimated the optimal patch size in seven selected hot-humid Asian cities with the help of Google Cloud Computing, Python Programming, as well as spatial and statistical analysis. A two-tier (two optimal patch sizes) distribution of the threshold value of efficiency (TVoE) of urban trees in this region was found. Eight landscape-level indexes were used to explore the variance of TVoE. The percentage of landscape (PLAND), edge density (ED), mean landscape shape index (Shape_MN), mean fractal dimension (FRAC_MN), largest patch index (LPI), and mean Euclidian nearest-neighbor distance (ENN_MN) were found to have no significant correlation with TVoE. While the average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI_MN) and average background temperature (BGT_MN) were found to be highly associated with the variance in TVoE. Further, a concept model that can simulate the effects of NDVI_MN and BGT_MN was also proposed. These findings extend the understanding of the UCI effect of urban trees as well as providing a basis for scientific climate adaption planning in this region.
Huiying Fan; Zhaowu Yu; Gaoyuan Yang; Tsz Yiu Liu; Carmem Huang Hung; Henrik Vejre. How to cool hot-humid (Asian) cities with urban trees? An optimal landscape size perspective. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 2018, 265, 338 -348.
AMA StyleHuiying Fan, Zhaowu Yu, Gaoyuan Yang, Tsz Yiu Liu, Carmem Huang Hung, Henrik Vejre. How to cool hot-humid (Asian) cities with urban trees? An optimal landscape size perspective. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 2018; 265 ():338-348.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHuiying Fan; Zhaowu Yu; Gaoyuan Yang; Tsz Yiu Liu; Carmem Huang Hung; Henrik Vejre. 2018. "How to cool hot-humid (Asian) cities with urban trees? An optimal landscape size perspective." Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 265, no. : 338-348.
Utilization of urban green vegetation (UGV) has been recognized as a promising option to mitigate urban heat island (UHI) effect. While we still lack understanding of the contributions of local background climate to the cooling effect of UGV. Here we proposed and employed a cooling effect framework and selected eight typical cities located in Temperate Monsoon Climate (TMC) and Mediterranean Climate (MC) demonstrate that local climate condition largely affects the cooling effect of UGV. Specifically, we found increasing (artificial) rainfall and irrigation contribute to improving the cooling intensity of grassland in both climates, particularly in the hot-dry environment. The cities with high relative humidity would restrict the cooling effect of UGV. Increasing wind speed would significantly enhance the tree-covered while weakening the grass-covered UGVs’ cooling effect in MC cities. We also identified that, in order to achieve the most effective cooling with the smallest sized tree-covered UGV, the area of trees in both climate zones’ cities should generally be planned around 0.5 ha. The method and results enhance understanding of the cooling effect of UGVs on larger (climate) scales and provide important insights for UGV planning and management.
Zhaowu Yu; Shaobin Xu; Yuhan Zhang; Gertrud Jørgensen; Henrik Vejre. Strong contributions of local background climate to the cooling effect of urban green vegetation. Scientific Reports 2018, 8, 1 -9.
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Shaobin Xu, Yuhan Zhang, Gertrud Jørgensen, Henrik Vejre. Strong contributions of local background climate to the cooling effect of urban green vegetation. Scientific Reports. 2018; 8 (1):1-9.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Shaobin Xu; Yuhan Zhang; Gertrud Jørgensen; Henrik Vejre. 2018. "Strong contributions of local background climate to the cooling effect of urban green vegetation." Scientific Reports 8, no. 1: 1-9.
With the socio-economic development associated with urbanization, the urban-rural relationship has changed across the world. In China, due to the urban-rural dual structure, these changes turn out to be more complicated. Spatial restructuring are suggested as the main strategies and spatial supporting platforms for urban-rural development. However, the theory still lacks solid methodology and support from systematic empirical studies. This study seeks an adequate scientific methodology and discusses the difference of urban-rural transformation in plains and mountainous areas. A case in Shanghang County, China, demonstrates: 1) The compound ecological niche model can be a suitable approach in urban-rural restructuring, especially in mountainous areas. 2) The urban-rural development area with highly inappropriate, slightly appropriate, moderately appropriate, and highly appropriate areas are 1273.2 km2 (44.69%); 906.1 km2 (31.80%); 509.4 km2 (17.88%); and 160.1 km2 (5.62%), respectively. 3) The “deserting villages” in mountainous areas play positive synergistic roles in urbanization, in contrast to the “hollowing villages” common in plain areas. 4) The central town-village will become the most important settlement in mountainous areas. Therefore, we suggest more attention should be paid to environmental capacity in the construction of central town-villages. This study significantly extends the understanding of “hollowing village” theory and regional planning.
Zhaowu Yu; Lishan Xiao; Xiji Chen; Zhichao He; Qinghai Guo; Henrik Vejre. Spatial restructuring and land consolidation of urban-rural settlement in mountainous areas based on ecological niche perspective. Journal of Geographical Sciences 2018, 28, 131 -151.
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Lishan Xiao, Xiji Chen, Zhichao He, Qinghai Guo, Henrik Vejre. Spatial restructuring and land consolidation of urban-rural settlement in mountainous areas based on ecological niche perspective. Journal of Geographical Sciences. 2018; 28 (2):131-151.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Lishan Xiao; Xiji Chen; Zhichao He; Qinghai Guo; Henrik Vejre. 2018. "Spatial restructuring and land consolidation of urban-rural settlement in mountainous areas based on ecological niche perspective." Journal of Geographical Sciences 28, no. 2: 131-151.
Zhaowu Yu; Xieying Guo; Yuxi Zeng; Motoya Koga; Henrik Vejre. Variations in land surface temperature and cooling efficiency of green space in rapid urbanization: The case of Fuzhou city, China. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 2018, 29, 113 -121.
AMA StyleZhaowu Yu, Xieying Guo, Yuxi Zeng, Motoya Koga, Henrik Vejre. Variations in land surface temperature and cooling efficiency of green space in rapid urbanization: The case of Fuzhou city, China. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 2018; 29 ():113-121.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaowu Yu; Xieying Guo; Yuxi Zeng; Motoya Koga; Henrik Vejre. 2018. "Variations in land surface temperature and cooling efficiency of green space in rapid urbanization: The case of Fuzhou city, China." Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 29, no. : 113-121.