Surface Temperature, Wetness, and Vegetation Dynamic in Agriculture Landscape: Comparison of Cadastres with Different Types of Wetlands

Abstract

The aim of this study is to demonstrate and emphasize the importance of wetlands and permanent vegetation in an agriculture landscape. We compared functional aspects (surface temperature, wetness, and vegetation) of seven different cadastres (administrative units) in two distinctive regions in the Czech Republic. In terms of land cover, one is represented by heterogeneous mosaic, the other by intensive agriculture. Functional aspects were calculated for each cadastre and then within the region compared among themselves. The comparison was realized during the growing season, i.e., in the months of May to September.The study, based on Landsat satellite data assessment, confirmed that areas with a higher proportion of forest and wetlands can provide a more balanced temperature-moisture regime of the landscape throughout the growing season, low temperatures, and high humidity. In these areas, the solar radiation is transformed into latent heat which leads to landscape cooling, minimizing erosion, and loss of water, matter, and nutrients. In the landscape where crops dominate, temperature-moisture regime is characterized by high temperature and its amplitude and low humidity. The exception is the beginning of the growing season when the landscape is cooled by intensive crop growth. In periods of high stage of maturity or after harvest, the agricultural landscape is characterized by high surface temperature. At the end of this chapter, we present suggestions for sustainable management of agricultural landscape, which is represented by construction of wetlands.