Correlation analysis between land use/cover change and air pollutants—A case study in Wuyishan city

Abstract

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, PM2.5, 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 PM2.5 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.