On the relationship between normalized difference vegetation index and land surface temperature: MODIS-based analysis in a semi-arid to arid environment

This work focused on studying the relationships between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and daytime and nighttime Land Surface Temperature (LST) in winter, spring, summer and fall and investigating the effects of land cover on these variables in Jordan, which represents a typical semi-arid to arid environment. Using MODIS-based data for the year 2017, multiple procedures were applied: one-way analysis of variance followed by comparison between means, Pearson correlation coefficient, global Moran's index, simple linear regression, second-order polynomial regression, recursive-partitioning regression and geographically weighted regression. The results showed that land cover explained fair amount of the variability in NDVI but small amount of the variability in daytime and nighttime LST. In addition, an inverted surface urban heat island pattern was observed in daytime. Finally, applying different regression procedures produced different perspectives about the complex and variable relationships between daytime and nighttime LST and NDVI in different seasons.