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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (10): 2065-2078.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.634

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of surface environment in Urumqi City and typical photovoltaic power stations based on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery

ZHOU Teng1(), LIU Qiong1(), CHEN Yonghang1, HE Ting1, WU Jianguo2, LIU Rui2, XIU Qiang2, XU Yunhong1, SHAO Weiling3, HAN Xueyun3   

  1. 1 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
    2 Huaneng Xinjiang Energy Development Co. Ltd., Urumqi 830018, Xinjiang, China
    3 Climate Center of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2025-10-11 Revised:2025-11-05 Online:2026-10-25 Published:2026-10-26
  • Contact: LIU Qiong E-mail:zt2035046586@163.com;liuqiong@dhu.edu.cn

Abstract:

As a representative of urban surface environment evolution in arid regions of China, Urumqi City has experienced rapid urbanization and extensive photovoltaic construction, significantly affecting key surface parameters. Utilizing 10-m resolution remote sensing images from the Sentinel-2 satellite spanning 2019 to 2024, this study retrieved the surface albedo and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of Urumqi City, analyzed their spatiotemporal variation characteristics, and examined the effects of photovoltaic facilities on surface albedo using the Midong 3.5 GW photovoltaic area as a case study. The results revealed the following: (1) From 2019 to 2024, Urumqi City’s overall albedo exhibited a year-by-year upward trend, with an average annual increase of 0.0197. In 2022, influenced by a prolonged extreme drought in Xinjiang, albedo rose sharply by 0.077, marking a 21.9% increase from the previous year. Seasonal analysis showed that winter had the highest albedo value of the year (0.516) due to snow cover, whereas summer recorded the lowest (0.280) due to vigorous vegetation growth. Spatially, significant increases in albedo were mainly observed in the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains in the southwest and the eastern wasteland, with smaller changes in the northern wasteland. (2) During the same period, the NDVI of Urumqi City showed an overall downward trend. Its seasonal variation was opposite that of albedo, with the lowest value in winter (0.024) and the highest in summer (0.142). In 2022, vegetation degradation peaked due to drought, with NDVI decreasing by 38.3% and the negative anomaly range significantly expanding, primarily affecting the areas around the city, the southwestern mountainous region, and the eastern wasteland. (3) Following the completion of the 3.5 GW photovoltaic area in Midong in 2024, the albedo in the core area covered by photovoltaic panels decreased by 11.6% compared to pre-construction levels, forming a distinct “low albedo zone”. Albedo in surrounding buffer zones also declined, though the overall average decline (3.3%) was less than that observed in the photovoltaic core area.

Key words: surface albedo, normalized difference vegetation index, spatial pattern, photovoltaic power station, buffer zone