Spatiotemporal Interactions of Land Use Change, Land Surface Temperature, and Vegetation Dynamics in China's Caohai National Nature Reserve
Yin Su, Ran Liu, Jie Liu, Xiaohui XueABSTRACT
Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use change (LUC), land surface temperature (LST), and vegetation indices is critical for assessing ecological changes and informing sustainable land management. This study investigates the long‐term interrelationships between LUC, LST, and vegetation indices in China's Caohai National Nature Reserve (CNNR) from 2000 to 2024. A comparative analysis was conducted by dividing the reserve into an Ecological Landscape Protection Zone (ELPZ) and a Land Use Development Zone (LUDZ). Utilizing multi‐temporal Landsat imagery, we quantified trends in land use types, LST, and vegetation indices, assessing their correlations through Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis. The results indicate that: (1) Cultivated land and construction land underwent the most substantial transitions, with net increases of 25.17% and 362.68%, respectively; (2) The mean LST followed a non‐linear trend, rising from 19.56°C (2000) to a peak of 21.68°C (2013) before fluctuating to 21.36°C in 2024; (3) Vegetation indices increased significantly ( p < 0.05), indicating improved vegetation cover, particularly in the LUDZ; (4) LST exhibited a significant negative correlation with the spatial extent of forest and water bodies ( R 2 > 0.7) and a positive correlation with cultivated and construction land ( R 2 > 0.5); (5) A strengthening positive correlation between NDVI and LST was observed in the ELPZ ( R 2 : 0.69–0.80), contrasting with a weak‐to‐negative correlation in the urbanized LUDZ ( R 2 : 0.10–0.03). These findings underscore the necessity of land management policies that control urban expansion and promote vegetation restoration to mitigate regional warming and enhance ecological resilience.