Correlation Analysis between Land Use/Cover Change and Air Pollutants—A Case Study in Wuyishan City

• Main Authors: Zhipeng Zhu, Guangyu Wang, Jianwen Dong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: land use/cover change (LUCC); air pollution; correlation; Wuyishan City
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/13/2545

Land use changes have significantly altered the natural environment in which humans live. In urban areas, diminishing air quality poses a large threat to human health. In order to investigate the relationship between land use/cover change (LUCC) and air pollutants of Wuyishan City between 2014−2017, an integrated approach was used by combining remote sensing techniques with a landscape ecology methods. Annual, seasonal, and weekly mean values of air pollutant (SO₂, NO₂, CO, PM₁₀, O₃, PM_2.5, black carbon) concentration and atmospheric visibility were calculated to develop a Pearson correlation between LUCC and air pollutants concentration. Results showed an increase in forested areas (1.79%) and water areas (15.89%), with a simultaneous reduction in cultivated land (6.47%), bare land (72.61%), and built-up land (16.03%) from 2014 to 2017. The transition matrix of land use types revealed that (i) forest expansion took place mainly at the expense of cultivated land (13.94%) and bare land (27.48%); and (ii) water area expansion took place mainly at the expense of cultivated land (1.29%) and forests (0.21%). In 2017, the proportion of days with AQI level I (94.52%) was higher than that in 2014 (88.77%). Additionally, the annual average visibility in 2017 (37.42 km) was higher than 2014 (27.46 km). The concentration of SO₂, CO, O₃, and black carbon was positively correlated with the cultivated land. The concentration of SO₂, CO, and black carbon negatively correlated with the increase of forests. PM₁₀, and PM_2.5 is negatively correlated with the water area. Visibility was found to be positively correlated with forested area, and negatively correlated with cultivated land. The findings from this study represent a valuable gain in understanding of policies aimed at improving, safeguarding, and monitoring air quality. These results can be used to inform land-use planning decisions in a comprehensive way and could be a valuable tool for LUCC rational management strategies.