Evaluation of the Thermal Effects of Urban Agricultural Areas on Surrounding Cultural Settlements: The Case of Dörtyol Citrus Orchard

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: Special, 131 - 141, 28.12.2025

Nihat Karakuş , Ahmet Koç

https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.si.21

Abstract

This study sought to explore and assess the thermal effects of urban agricultural zones on adjacent urban and rural areas, utilizing remote sensing data, with a citrus orchard in the Dörtyol district of Hatay province as a case study. NDVI and LST maps were generated with cloud-free Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite data from August 19, 2024. The CORINE 2018 land cover data was utilized to delineate the boundaries of urban and rural communities. The research was carried out within a buffer zone created from the perimeter of the urban agriculture region. The results indicate that the mean NDVI value of the urban agricultural zone (0.34 ± 0.05) is markedly greater than that of the urban settlement (0.14 ± 0.07) and displays vegetation traits akin to those of the rural settlement (0.28 ± 0.09). LST investigations indicated that the urban settlement exhibited the greatest average surface temperature (43.83 ± 0.93 °C), succeeded by the urban agricultural area (42.68 ± 0.59 °C), and the rural settlement (42.44 ± 0.85 °C). The urban agricultural zone exhibited average land surface temperature (LST) values that were 1.15 °C lower and maximum temperatures that were 3.33 °C lower than those of the adjacent urban settlement. Transect-based correlation studies demonstrated that the correlations between NDVI and LST were substantial and negative (p < 0.001) across all land use categories. The correlation coefficients were determined to be -0.65 in the urban settlement, -0.77 in the urban agricultural area, and -0.84 in the rural settlement. LST values were found to decrease with increasing plant density and continuity, but LST values rose with heightened impervious surface pressure. Consequently, it was concluded that the urban agricultural zone displays thermal properties akin to rural areas, yet had the capacity to exert a considerable cooling influence on adjacent metropolitan environments. Moreover, it was shown that urban agriculture transcends conventional production, serving as a strategic instrument for delivering ecosystem services and bolstering urban climate resilience. Incorporating urban agricultural zones into sustainable urban design and climate adaption techniques can substantially alleviate the urban heat island effect and enhance urban thermal comfort.

Keywords

Urban agriculture , Urban settlement , Rural settlement , NDVI , LST , Thermal effect

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