scholarly journals Blue-Green infrastructure determines the microclimate mitigation potential targeted for urban cooling

2021 ◽  
Vol 918 (1) ◽  
pp. 012010
Author(s):  
R Sanusi ◽  
M Jalil

Abstract Urban Heat Island (UHI) exacerbated by global warming can increase the thermal load in cities, which leads to more extreme climate events. One of the strategies to mitigate the impact of extreme climates and UHI is through nature-based solutions such as the Blue-Green Infrastructure as it provides environmental and community benefits However, Blue-Green Infrastructure’s role in urban cooling in the tropics still needs to be further investigated. Therefore, this study examined the role of Blue-Green Infrastructure on microclimate modifications in an urban park. Microclimate measurements were made using systematic random sampling with random start (total of 64 sampling points) at a waterbody (Blue Infrastructure) and tree and grass (Green Infrastructure) areas during solar noon time (1200-1400). Blue-Green Infrastructure showed greater microclimate benefits compared to the open space with the reduction of air temperature by up 1.6°C. However, green infrastructure had greater cooling benefits compared to Blue Infrastructure especially trees with significantly lower air temperature and solar radiation interception (0.71°C and 250.3 W/m2, respectively) as well as higher relative humidity (12.17%). Moreover, stand characteristics determine the microclimate mitigation function. This study provides a useful indication of the role of blue and green spaces in urban cooling, where it further emphasizes the importance of Blue-Green Infrastructure utilization in urban landscapes. It further recommends that urban planners, managers and policymakers should consider these strategies for urban cooling purposes : 1) Utilising Blue and Green Infrastructures especially trees 2) Tree canopy cover and DBH should be set as priority traits.

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (15) ◽  
pp. 7575-7580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly D. Ziter ◽  
Eric J. Pedersen ◽  
Christopher J. Kucharik ◽  
Monica G. Turner

As cities warm and the need for climate adaptation strategies increases, a more detailed understanding of the cooling effects of land cover across a continuum of spatial scales will be necessary to guide management decisions. We asked how tree canopy cover and impervious surface cover interact to influence daytime and nighttime summer air temperature, and how effects vary with the spatial scale at which land-cover data are analyzed (10-, 30-, 60-, and 90-m radii). A bicycle-mounted measurement system was used to sample air temperature every 5 m along 10 transects (∼7 km length, sampled 3–12 times each) spanning a range of impervious and tree canopy cover (0–100%, each) in a midsized city in the Upper Midwest United States. Variability in daytime air temperature within the urban landscape averaged 3.5 °C (range, 1.1–5.7 °C). Temperature decreased nonlinearly with increasing canopy cover, with the greatest cooling when canopy cover exceeded 40%. The magnitude of daytime cooling also increased with spatial scale and was greatest at the size of a typical city block (60–90 m). Daytime air temperature increased linearly with increasing impervious cover, but the magnitude of warming was less than the cooling associated with increased canopy cover. Variation in nighttime air temperature averaged 2.1 °C (range, 1.2–3.0 °C), and temperature increased with impervious surface. Effects of canopy were limited at night; thus, reduction of impervious surfaces remains critical for reducing nighttime urban heat. Results suggest strategies for managing urban land-cover patterns to enhance resilience of cities to climate warming.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiley J. Hundertmark ◽  
Marissa Lee ◽  
Ian A. Smith ◽  
Ashley H. Y. Bang ◽  
Vivien Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background With a lack of United States federal policy to address climate change, cities, the private sector, and universities have shouldered much of the work to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions. This study aims to determine how landcover characteristics influence the amount of carbon (C) sequestered and respired via biological processes, evaluating the role of land management on the overall C budget of an urban university. Boston University published a comprehensive Climate Action Plan in 2017 with the goal of achieving C neutrality by 2040. In this study, we digitized and discretized each of Boston University’s three urban campuses into landcover types, with C sequestration and respiration rates measured and scaled to provide a University-wide estimate of biogenic C fluxes within the broader context of total University emissions. Results Each of Boston University’s three highly urban campuses were net sources of biogenic C to the atmosphere. While trees were estimated to sequester 0.6 ± 0.2 kg C m−2 canopy cover year−1, mulch and lawn areas in 2018 emitted C at rates of 1.7 ± 0.4 kg C m−2 year−1 and 1.4 ± 0.4 kg C m−2 year−1, respectively. C uptake by tree canopy cover, which can spatially overlap lawn and mulched landcovers, was not large enough to offset biogenic emissions. The proportion of biogenic emissions to Scope 1 anthropogenic emissions on each campus varied from 0.5% to 2%, and depended primarily on the total anthropogenic emissions on each campus. Conclusions Our study quantifies the role of urban landcover in local C budgets, offering insights on how landscaping management strategies—such as decreasing mulch application rates and expanding tree canopy extent—can assist universities in minimizing biogenic C emissions and even potentially creating a small biogenic C sink. Although biogenic C fluxes represent a small fraction of overall anthropogenic emissions on urban university campuses, these biogenic fluxes are under active management by the university and should be included in climate action plans.


2021 ◽  
Vol 879 (1) ◽  
pp. 012021
Author(s):  
R A Rahmadanti ◽  
B Sulistyantara

Abstract Urban development has many negative impacts in the form of an increase in the concentration of CO2 in the air. One of them is due to the increase in the volume of vehicles. CO2 causes an increase in global temperature (global warming) through the greenhouse effect. Yogyakarta International Airport has a green open space planted with trees to support the existence of the airport itself. Trees have contributed to efforts to reduce CO2 in the air through CO2 absorption. Control of the amount of CO2 emissions in the air is done by adding carbon stocks on land so that the CO2 concentration does not continue to increase, therefore this research is necessary. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ability of trees to absorb pollutants and store carbon and estimate the value of environmental services that will be contributed by the tree green system at Yogyakarta International Airport based on existing planting plans. The research method used is modeling using CITYGreen 5.2 software to determine the value of tree services in the ability to absorb air pollution, carbon storage capacity, and cost savings that can be done by tree canopies. The method used in this study consisted of preparation, data inventory, and data analysis. The results of this study show that the value of environmental services provided by 125,72 acres of tree canopy cover in absorbing air pollution in the airport area is $ 9.045,54 / year or equivalent to Rp 133.356.587,10 per year, the total concentration of pollutants that can be absorbed is 3.813,30 lbs/year or equivalent to 1.729,68 kg/year, and the capacity of carbon storage is 1.326,46 tons with a sequestration rate of around 29,9 tons/year.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Muhammad Fajar ◽  
G M Saragih ◽  
Soni Pratomo

Muhammad Sabki City Forest is one of the urban forests that is used as Green Open Space in Jambi City, one of the functions of urban forests is absorbing CO2 gas emissions, the analysis carried out in the forest city of Muhammad Sabki in Jambi is to find out how much CO2 emissions remaining by determining tree canopy / cover points consisting of 3 measurement locations, measurements carried out in the morning, afternoon and evening where location I with tree canopy / cover is rarely obtained on average the remaining emis of CO2 produced for 1 week at in the morning at 420.762 ppm, during the day 403.057 ppm, and in the afternoon at 409.038 ppm, while at location II with density / medium tree cover, in the morning it was 420.610 ppm, during the day 401.762 ppm, and in the afternoon 409,210 ppm, then at the location of point III in the morning it was 420,429 ppm, during the day 402,981 ppm and in the afternoon 414,638 ppm. Where is the average residual CO2 emissions produced? an annual 0,150 (tons / year) this shows that it is still in accordance with the criteria for quality standards for air quality so that the city of Muhammad Sabki Jambi City still has good quality in absorbing residual CO2 emissions generated from activities or activities of humans and other living things.


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. Mincey ◽  
Mikaela Schmitt-Harsh ◽  
Richard Thurau

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2640
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zubair ◽  
Akash Jamil ◽  
Syed Bilal Hussain ◽  
Ahsan Ul Haq ◽  
Ahmad Hussain ◽  
...  

The moist temperate forests in Northern Pakistan are home to a variety of flora and fauna that are pivotal in sustaining the livelihoods of the local communities. In these forests, distribution and richness of vegetation, especially that of medicinal plants, is rarely reported. In this study, we carried out a vegetation survey in District Balakot, located in Northeastern Pakistan, to characterize the diversity of medicinal plants under different canopies of coniferous forest. The experimental site was divided into three major categories (viz., closed canopy, open spaces, and partial tree cover). A sampling plot of 100 m2 was established on each site to measure species diversity, dominance, and evenness. To observe richness and abundance, the rarefaction and rank abundance curves were plotted. Results revealed that a total of 45 species representing 34 families were available in the study site. Medicinal plants were the most abundant (45%) followed by edible plants (26%). Tree canopy cover affected the overall growth of medicinal plants on the basis of abundance and richness. The site with partial canopy exhibited the highest diversity, dominance, and abundance compared to open spaces and closed canopy. These findings are instrumental in identifying the wealth of the medicinal floral diversity in the northeastern temperate forest of Balakot and the opportunity to sustain the livelihoods of local communities with the help of public/private partnership.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 433
Author(s):  
Xiaolan Huang ◽  
Weicheng Wu ◽  
Tingting Shen ◽  
Lifeng Xie ◽  
Yaozu Qin ◽  
...  

This research was focused on estimation of tree canopy cover (CC) by multiscale remote sensing in south China. The key aim is to establish the relationship between CC and woody NDVI (NDVIW) or to build a CC-NDVIW model taking northeast Jiangxi as an example. Based on field CC measurements, this research used Google Earth as a complementary source to measure CC. In total, 63 sample plots of CC were created, among which 45 were applied for modeling and the remaining 18 were employed for verification. In order to ascertain the ratio R of NDVIW to the satellite observed NDVI, a 20-year time-series MODIS NDVI dataset was utilized for decomposition to obtain the NDVIW component, and then the ratio R was calculated with the equation R = (NDVIW/NDVI) *100%, respectively, for forest (CC >60%), medium woodland (CC = 25–60%) and sparse woodland (CC 1–25%). Landsat TM and OLI images that had been orthorectified by the provider USGS were atmospherically corrected using the COST model and used to derive NDVIL. R was multiplied for the NDVIL image to extract the woody NDVI (NDVIWL) from Landsat data for each of these plots. The 45 plots of CC data were linearly fitted to the NDVIWL, and a model with CC = 103.843 NDVIW + 6.157 (R2 = 0.881) was obtained. This equation was applied to predict CC at the 18 verification plots and a good agreement was found (R2 = 0.897). This validated CC-NDVIW model was further applied to the woody NDVI of forest, medium woodland and sparse woodland derived from Landsat data for regional CC estimation. An independent group of 24 measured plots was utilized for validation of the results, and an accuracy of 83.0% was obtained. Thence, the developed model has high predictivity and is suitable for large-scale estimation of CC using high-resolution data.


Author(s):  
Vidya Anderson ◽  
William A. Gough

AbstractThe application of green infrastructure presents an opportunity to mitigate rising temperatures using a multi-faceted ecosystems-based approach. A controlled field study in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, evaluates the impact of nature-based solutions on near surface air temperature regulation focusing on different applications of green infrastructure. A field campaign was undertaken over the course of two summers to measure the impact of green roofs, green walls, urban vegetation and forestry systems, and urban agriculture systems on near surface air temperature. This study demonstrates that multiple types of green infrastructure applications are beneficial in regulating near surface air temperature and are not limited to specific treatments. Widespread usage of green infrastructure could be a viable strategy to cool cities and improve urban climate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Badia-Rius ◽  
Hannah Betts ◽  
Samuel Wanji ◽  
David Molyneux ◽  
Mark J. Taylor ◽  
...  

Loiasis (African Eye Worm) is a filarial infection caused by Loa loa and transmitted by Chrysops vectors, which are confined to the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa. Loiasis is a major impediment to control and elimination programmes that use the drug ivermectin due to the risk of serious adverse events. There is an urgent need to better refine and map high-risk communities. This study aimed to quantify and predict environmental factors associated with loiasis across five bioecological zones in Cameroon. The L. loa microfilaria (mf) prevalence (%) and intensity (mf number/ml) data from 42 villages within an Equatorial Rainforest and Savannah region were examined in relation to climate, topographic and forest-related data derived from satellite remote sensing sources. Differences between zones and regions were examined using nonparametric tests, and the relationship between L. loa mf prevalence, mf intensity, and the environmental factors using polynomial regression models. Overall, the L. loa mf prevalence was 11.6%, L. loa intensity 927.4 mf/ml, mean annual temperature 23.7°C, annual precipitation 2143.2 mm, elevation 790 m, tree canopy cover 46.7%, and canopy height 19.3m. Significant differences between the Equatorial Rainforest and Savannah region were found. Within the Equatorial Rainforest region, no significant differences were found. However, within the Savannah region, significant differences between the three bioecological zones were found, and the regression models indicated that tree canopy cover and elevation were significant predictors, explaining 85.1% of the L. loa mf prevalence (adjusted R2 = 0.851; p<0.001) and tree cover alone was significant, explaining 58.1% of the mf intensity (adjusted R2 = 0.581; p<0.001). The study highlights that environmental analysis can help delineate risk at different geographical scales, which may be practical for developing larger scale operational plans for mapping and implementing safe effective interventions.


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