Monitoring and Analysis of Relationship between Vegetation Cover and Air Pollution Using Sentinel and MODIS Satellite Data in Mazandaran Province

Urban vegetation mitigates air pollution, thereby enhancing environmental quality and human health. This study examines the relationship between vegetation cover (NDVI) and air pollution indicators (O₃, CO, AOD) in Mazandaran Province, Iran, from ۲۰۱۹ to ۲۰۲۴. Data were obtained from Sentinel-۵P (O₃, CO), MODIS (AOD), Sentinel-۲ (NDVI), and ۶۰ ground-based and virtual monitoring stations across Amol, Babol, Qaemshahr, Babolsar, and Sari. Analyses included R², Pearson, Kendall Tau, Spearman correlations, mutual information (MI), distance correlation (DC), HSIC, principal component analysis (PCA), Bland–Altman, and K-Means clustering. Spatiotemporal results indicated O₃ concentrations of ۰.۱۳۲–۰.۱۴۵ mol/m², CO of ۰.۰۲–۰.۰۳۷ mol/m², and AOD of –۰.۶۲ to ۰.۹۷, peaking in urban areas and along with major highways. NDVI ranged from –۰.۲۶ to ۰.۴۶, declining from ۲۰۲۲ (–۰.۰۸ to ۰.۲۶ in ۲۰۲۴), with higher values in Hyrcanian forests. A consistently strong negative NDVI–AOD relationship was observed (R² = ۰.۵۵۲–۰.۶۴۴; Pearson’s r = –۰.۷۴۳ to –۰.۸۰۳; Kendall’s τ = –۰.۵۵۴ to –۰.۶۳۵; Spearman’s ρ = –۰.۷۳۸ to –۰.۸۲۰; Mutual Information = ۰.۸۳۲–۰.۹۸۹; PC۱ = ۸۷.۱–۹۰.۱%), while Bland–Altman analysis indicated biases of ۰.۰۷–۰.۱۲ with strongest agreement in ۲۰۱۹–۲۰۲۱ (LoA: –۰.۱۲ to ۰.۲۶). K-Means clustering revealed three clusters per year, with NDVI thresholds of ۰.۱۵–۰.۲۰ associated with lower AOD (۰.۱۵–۰.۲۰) in vegetated areas versus higher AOD (۰.۱۹–۰.۲۵) in sparsely vegetated zones. These results highlight vegetation’s critical role in aerosol mitigation and emphasize the importance of targeted vegetation management and continuous high-resolution satellite monitoring (MODIS, Sentinel-۲) to improve air quality in Mazandaran Province.

کلیدواژه ها:

Air pollution ، Environmental ، Satellite monitoring ، Urban green spaces ، Vegetation cover