Seasonal Variability of Land Surface Temperature in Halych National Nature Park

Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring

Authors

First and Last Name	Academic degree	E-mail	Affiliation
Oleh Hnatiuk	Ph.D.	o.r.hnatiuk [at] gmail.com	Ukrainian Mountain Forestry Research Institute named after P.S. Pasternak Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Mariana Sishchuk	Ph.D.	maryanasishuk [at] gmail.com	Ukrainian Mountain Forestry Research Institute named after P.S. Pasternak Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Volodymyr Mahuran	Ph.D.	v.mahuran [at] nltu.edu.ua	National Forestry University of Ukraine Lviv, Ukraine
Andrii Ivaniuk	Ph.D.	a.ivanuk [at] nltu.edu.ua	National Forestry University of Ukraine Lviv, Ukraine
Lesia Kovalska	Ph.D.	gnatuk_l [at] ukr.net	Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

I and my co-authors (if any) authorize the use of the Paper in accordance with the Creative Commons CC BY license

First published on this website: 30.06.2026 - 13:41

Abstract

This study investigates the seasonal variability of Land Surface Temperature (LST) within the Halych National Nature Park (Ukraine) using Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS data for 2023. Monthly LST maps were generated through the split-window algorithm, with emissivity estimated via NDVI thresholding. Zonal statistics revealed a clear seasonal pattern: colder months (January–March) were dominated by below-average temperature zones, while near-average conditions prevailed in spring and summer. The proportion of the park covered by average LST values peaked in May (56.5%) and August (68.2%). Localized anomalies of ±3 °C affected up to 8% of the territory, indicating areas potentially vulnerable to overheating or cooling. Despite their limited spatial extent, these anomalies have significant ecological implications, as they highlight zones prone to overheating, excessive cooling, drought, vegetation degradation, and increased fire risk. Long-term satellite-based monitoring of LST thus provides a robust framework for detecting microclimatic anomalies and assessing risks to temperature-sensitive species.

Keywords

Halych National Nature Park; Landsat 8; LST monitoring; remote sensing; seasonal variability; thermal anomalies

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