Intensification or marginalization: peri-urban agriculture for mitigating urban heat island effects in summer

Green infrastructure offers nature-based solutions for mitigating surface urban heat island (SUHI) effects, but its cooling capacity within urban areas is constrained by space limitations. This study expands the scope beyond urban boundaries by investigating the summer impact of peri-urban agriculture (PUA) dynamics on SUHI mitigation based on time-series satellite observations across China. The results revealed that PUA management undergoes significant changes in response to encroaching urbanization pressure. The widespread agricultural marginalization nearer cities warrants attention, particularly given its strong impact on SUHI during summer. Larger cities derive less thermal benefit from PUA. To better isolate the non-local impact and decode the underlying biophysical mechanisms, we simulated various PUA scenarios for Changchun City with a coupled land-atmosphere model. The agricultural intensification scenario demonstrated an average cooling effect of 0.07–0.16 °C on urban cores, which is primarily driven by the increased convection efficiency. This non-local impact can be amplified by the positive feedback loop involving anthropogenic and soil heat. The findings present a novel perspective on harnessing PUA to enhance the cities’ climate resilience.