Assessment of the Relationship Between Land Surface Temperature and Vegetation Using Modis Ndvi and LST Timeseries Data in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

This study assessed the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and vegetation using MODIS NDVI and LST timeseries data in Kaduna Metropolis. MOD13Q1 and MOD11A2 datasets were accessed using Google Earth Engine. Mann-Kendall trend test was used to analyse the trends in LST and NDVI. Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient and Linear Regression were used to examine the relationship between LST and NDVI. Mann-Kendall trend test revealed monotonic downward trend in NDVI with a Z-statistics of -1.2758, but upward trend in daytime and nighttime LST, with a Z-statistics of 0.567 and 2.107 respectively. For the relationship, vegetation showed strong negative relationship with daytime LST with -0.704. Vegetation also showed weak positive relationship with nighttime LST. The linear regression analysis revealed that vegetation was able to predict 49.5% of LST in Kaduna Metropolis, with R2 value of 0.495 and a standard error of estimate is 2.459. The study concluded that loss of vegetation is responsible for the increase in land surface temperature. The study therefore recommended regulatory agencies should ensure that trees are planted whenever they are removed due to infrastructural development in order to prevent UHI phenomenon and planting of trees should be encouraged in order to regulate the urban climate.