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Improved Management of Trees, Ecohydrology, Natural Resources and Microclimate to...
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Improved Management of Trees, Ecohydrology, Natural Resources and Microclimate to Mitigate Urban Heat

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Forestry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 September 2020) | Viewed by 16627

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sebastian Pfautsch

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Urban Studies, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW, Australia
Interests: global change; extreme climate; plant and ecosystem function; urban heat; green infrastructure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Never before have urban trees and their services received the attention that they do today. Understanding the capacity of urban trees and forests as air purification systems for cities, as refuges for biodiversity from degraded landscapes and their social and health benefits balanced against the pressure exerted on them by urban sprawl and densification are important forces in driving this development. The effects of rapid climate change, manifesting as extreme heat events, droughts and damaging storms further contribute.

This special issue of Forests provides authors with a unique platform to showcase their diverse research on urban trees. The underlying theme for submissions to this special issue should be the desire to reduce urban heat and thus create more resilient, attractive and productive urban landscapes. Topics that challenge, redirect and progress policy development and sustainable management of urban trees and forests, advance our understanding of urban ecohydology and climatology and reveal structure-function relationships that increase or limit cooling to our progressively hot cities are welcome.

Papers in our 2016 special issue “Urban and Periurban Forest Diversity and Ecosystem Services” have collectively been cited more than 240 times. This impressive result demonstrates the commitment of Forests and its authors to progress high quality science around urban trees and forests. We continue on this path with our call for the upcoming special issue “Improved Management of Trees, Ecohydrology, Natural Resources and Microclimate to Mitigate Urban Heat”.

Dr. Sebastian Pfautsch
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Cooling strategy
  • Evapotranspiration
  • Green policy development
  • Public health
  • Resilient green city
  • Urban forest management
  • Urban climate
  • Urban heat

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3005 KiB  
Article
Temperature Reduction in Urban Surface Materials through Tree Shading Depends on Surface Type Not Tree Species
by Kaluarachichi T.U.N., Tjoelker M.G. and Pfautsch S.
Forests 2020, 11(11), 1141; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11111141 - 28 Oct 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4196
Abstract
Trees play a vital role in urban cooling. The present study tested if key canopy characteristics related to tree shade could be used to predict the cooling potential across a range of urban surface materials. During the austral summer of 2018–2019, tree and [...] Read more.
Trees play a vital role in urban cooling. The present study tested if key canopy characteristics related to tree shade could be used to predict the cooling potential across a range of urban surface materials. During the austral summer of 2018–2019, tree and canopy characteristics of 471 free-standing trees from 13 species were recorded across Greater Sydney, Australia. Stem girth and tree height, as well as leaf area index and ground-projected crown area was measured for every tree. Surface temperatures were recorded between noon (daylight saving time) and 3:00 p.m. under the canopy of each tree in the shade and in full sun to calculate the temperature differential between adjacent sunlit and shaded surfaces (∆Ts). The limited control over environmental parameters was addressed by using a large number of randomly selected trees and measurement points of surface temperatures. Analyses revealed that no systematic relationship existed among canopy characteristics and ∆Ts for any surface material. However, highly significant differences (p < 0.001) in ∆Ts existed among surface materials. The largest cooling potential of tree shade was found by shading bark mulch (∆Ts = −24.8 °C ± 7.1), followed by bare soil (∆Ts = −22.1 °C ± 5.5), bitumen (∆Ts = −20.9 °C ± 5.8), grass (∆Ts = −18.5 °C ± 4.8) and concrete pavers (∆Ts = −17.5 °C ± 6.0). The results indicate that surface material, but not the tree species, matters for shade cooling of common urban surfaces. Shading bark mulch, bare soil or bitumen will provide the largest reductions in surface temperature, which in turn results in effective mitigation of radiant heat. This refined understanding of the capacity of trees to reduce thermal loads in urban space can increase the effectiveness of urban cooling strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improved Management of Trees, Ecohydrology, Natural Resources and Microclimate to Mitigate Urban Heat)
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14 pages, 1419 KiB  
Article
Identifying Tree Traits for Cooling Urban Heat Islands—A Cross-City Empirical Analysis
by Carola Helletsgruber, Sten Gillner, Ágnes Gulyás, Robert R. Junker, Eszter Tanács and Angela Hof
Forests 2020, 11(10), 1064; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11101064 - 30 Sep 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4898
Abstract
Research Highlights: This paper presents a cross-city empirical study on micro-climatic thermal benefits of urban trees, using machine-learning analysis to identify the importance of several in situ measured tree physiognomy traits for cooling. Background and Objectives: Green infrastructure and trees in particular [...] Read more.
Research Highlights: This paper presents a cross-city empirical study on micro-climatic thermal benefits of urban trees, using machine-learning analysis to identify the importance of several in situ measured tree physiognomy traits for cooling. Background and Objectives: Green infrastructure and trees in particular play a key role in mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect. A more detailed understanding of the cooling potential of urban trees and specific tree traits is necessary to support tree management decisions for cooling our progressively hot cities. The goal of this study was to identify the influence and importance of various tree traits and site conditions. Materials and Methods: Surface temperature, air temperature at 1.1 m and at tree crown height, as well as wet bulb globe-temperature of shaded and fully sun-exposed reference areas, were used to study the cooling effect of seven different urban tree species. For all 100 individuals, tree height, crown base, trunk circumference, crown volume, crown area, leaf area index (LAI) and leaf area density (LAD) were measured. Measurements were conducted in the cities of Dresden, Salzburg, Szeged, and Vienna as representatives for middle European cities in different climate zones. Results: Beside site conditions, tree species, height, height of crown base, as well as trunk circumference, have a great influence on the cooling effect for city dwellers. The trunk circumference is a very valuable indicator for estimating climate regulating ecosystem services and therefore a highly robust estimator for policy makers and tree management practitioners when planning and managing urban green areas for improving the availability and provision of ecosystem services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improved Management of Trees, Ecohydrology, Natural Resources and Microclimate to Mitigate Urban Heat)
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15 pages, 3349 KiB  
Communication
Allowing Users to Benefit from Tree Shading: Using a Smartphone App to Allow Adaptive Route Planning during Extreme Heat
by Kaveh Deilami, Julie Rudner, Andrew Butt, Tania MacLeod, Geoff Williams, Harmen Romeijn and Marco Amati
Forests 2020, 11(9), 998; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11090998 - 17 Sep 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3580
Abstract
This paper presents the outcomes from a joint research project that aims to develop a smartphone application/online platform to model the most thermally comfortable active transport route to a planned destination using heat information and tree shading (Shadeway). Here, we provide a summary [...] Read more.
This paper presents the outcomes from a joint research project that aims to develop a smartphone application/online platform to model the most thermally comfortable active transport route to a planned destination using heat information and tree shading (Shadeway). Here, we provide a summary of our systematic review of academic literature and applications from the Google Play and Apple App Store, to identify current knowledge about personal adaptation strategies when navigating travel in cities during high temperatures. The review identifies that there is a lack of attention regarding the use of smartphone applications to address urban thermal comfort for active transport by government and private industry. We then present the initial results of original research from three community focus groups and an online survey that elicited participants’ opinions about Shadeways in the City of Greater Bendigo (CoGB), Australia. The results clearly show the need for better management of Shadeways in CoGB. For example, 52.3% of the routes traveled by participants suffer from either no or poor levels of shading, and 53 of the shaded areas were located along routes that also experience heavy traffic, which can have an adverse effect on perceptions and actual safety. It is expected that this study will contribute to improve understanding of the methods used to identify adaptation strategies to increasingly extreme temperatures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improved Management of Trees, Ecohydrology, Natural Resources and Microclimate to Mitigate Urban Heat)
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15 pages, 3298 KiB  
Article
The Best Urban Trees for Daytime Cooling Leave Nights Slightly Warmer
by Agnieszka Wujeska-Klause and Sebastian Pfautsch
Forests 2020, 11(9), 945; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11090945 - 28 Aug 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3514
Abstract
Summer air temperatures will continue to rise in metropolitan regions due to climate change and urbanization, intensifying daytime and nighttime air temperatures and result in greater thermal discomfort for city dwellers. Urban heat may be reduced by trees which provide shade, decreasing air [...] Read more.
Summer air temperatures will continue to rise in metropolitan regions due to climate change and urbanization, intensifying daytime and nighttime air temperatures and result in greater thermal discomfort for city dwellers. Urban heat may be reduced by trees which provide shade, decreasing air and surface temperatures underneath their canopies. We asked whether tree height and canopy density can help to identify species that provide greater microclimate benefits during day and night. We also asked if increased canopy cover of street trees provides similar microclimate benefits. We used continuous measurements of near-surface air temperatures under 36 park trees and from two urban streets to assess these questions. In the park, trees were grouped according to their height (<10 m, 10–20 m, >20 m) and canopy density (low, high), while the effect of canopy cover was tested using streets with high (31%) and low (11%) cover. Daytime near-surface air temperature declined with increasing height and canopy density providing significant cooling benefits. However, this trend was reversed at night when tall trees with dense canopies restricted longwave radiative cooling and trapped warm air beneath their crowns. High canopy cover of street trees reduced daytime air temperatures more, resulting in a lower number of days with hot (>35 °C) and extreme (>40 °C) air temperatures compared to the street that had low canopy cover. These findings suggest that tree species and streetscapes with dense canopy cover improve local thermal conditions during the day but do not seem ideal to allow for nighttime cooling, creating potential discomfort for residents during hot summer nights. Our results indicate that classifying trees using a simple metric can assist in selecting tree species that can alleviate the local negative effect of urban heat during the day, but at the same time, their effect in preventing optimal longwave radiative cooling during the night must be factored into planting strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improved Management of Trees, Ecohydrology, Natural Resources and Microclimate to Mitigate Urban Heat)
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