Investigate the Difference of Cooling Effect between Water Bodies and Green Spaces: The Study of Fuzhou, China

Abstract

The urban heat island (UHI) effect will persist for a long time and influence human health, energy consumption, and future urban planning. Understanding the cooling effect of water bodies and green spaces can help alleviate the frequency of extreme climate, especially during torridity seasons. In this study, correlation and regression analysis were used to measure the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) or cooling indicators and landscape factors. In addition, the cooling intensity, distance, and threshold value of efficiency (TVoE) of water bodies and green spaces were detected. The results confirmed that: first, the cooling effect of water bodies were stronger than that of vegetation in most cases and more water bodies’ layout in the region was advocated; second, increasing vegetation coverage within 27% of the region can effectively and economically alleviate the thermal environment; and third, the green samples with an area of 0.57 ha and a high vegetation index had a higher cost performance ratio. The results provided quantitative guidance for urban public service spatial planning of water bodies and green spaces to prevent the continuous increase of urban background temperature.