High-resolution circa-2020 map of urban lakes in China

Urban lakes provide important ecological services to local communities, such as flood mitigation, biodiversity, and recreation. With rapid urbanization, urban lakes are significantly affected by socio-economic development and urgently need attention. Yet there is still a lack of datasets that include tiny urban lakes on a global or national scale. This study aims to produce a high-resolution circa-2020 map of urban lakes (>= 0.001 km(2)) in China. The 10-m-resolution Sentinel-2 imagery and a simple but robust water extraction method was used to generate waterbodies. The accuracy of this national-scale dataset was evaluated by comparing it with manually sampled urban units, with the average accuracy of 81.85% in area and 93.35% in count. The database totally inventories 1.11 x 10(6) urban lakes in China, with a net area of similar to 2.13 x 10(3) km(2). Overall, the spatial distribution of urban lakes in China showed strongly heterogeneous characteristics. This dataset will enhance our understanding of the distribution pattern of China's urban lakes and contribute to better ecological and environmental management as well as sustainable urban development planning.

Automated summary

Urban lakes provide essential ecological services to local communities, but they are facing significant pressure due to rapid urbanization. This study has produced a high-resolution map of urban lakes in China, which will contribute to a better understanding of their distribution pattern and support sustainable development planning.