Influence of Single and Small Clusters of Trees on the Bioclimate of a City: A Case Study    (View PDF)

S. Streiling and A. Matzarakis

Abstract: This study examines the effects of single trees and small clusters of trees on the bioclimate of a city. Investigations of the thermal environment and air quality of the urban climate were carried out on September 19 and September 29, 2000, at Fahnenbergplatz, in the northern city center of Freiburg in southwest Germany. The study area, approximately 1,700 m2, contains 12 horsechestnut trees (Aesculus hippocastanum) of different ages and sizes. The positive effect of trees on the thermal environment and air quality component was confirmed by the study. In particular, the mean radiation temperature Tmrt, and the human biometeorological thermal index known as the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) showed distinct differences between areas with trees and areas without trees, despite the small size of the investigation area. A high reduction potential for nitrogen oxides and ozone was found inside the tree crowns, but outside the crowns there was no measurable reduction. The most important result regarding volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was the absence of terpene emissions from the horsechestnuts. Similarly, no isoprene emissions from horsechestnuts were found. Therefore, horsechestnut trees have a very small ozone-forming potential.

Keywords: Urban climate; bioclimate, urban trees; thermal component; air quality.

https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2003.037