Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling
High nighttime urban air temperatures increase health risks and economic vulnerability of people globally. While recent studies have highlighted nighttime heat mitigation effects of urban vegetation, the magnitude and variability of vegetation-derived urban nighttime cooling differs greatly among ci...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdf8a |
| _version_ | 1827870332443164672 |
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| author | Peter C Ibsen Dorothy Borowy Tyler Dell Hattie Greydanus Neha Gupta David M Hondula Thomas Meixner Mary V Santelmann Sheri A Shiflett Michael C Sukop Christopher M Swan Michelle L Talal Miguel Valencia Mary K Wright G Darrel Jenerette |
| author_facet | Peter C Ibsen Dorothy Borowy Tyler Dell Hattie Greydanus Neha Gupta David M Hondula Thomas Meixner Mary V Santelmann Sheri A Shiflett Michael C Sukop Christopher M Swan Michelle L Talal Miguel Valencia Mary K Wright G Darrel Jenerette |
| author_sort | Peter C Ibsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High nighttime urban air temperatures increase health risks and economic vulnerability of people globally. While recent studies have highlighted nighttime heat mitigation effects of urban vegetation, the magnitude and variability of vegetation-derived urban nighttime cooling differs greatly among cities. We hypothesize that urban vegetation-derived nighttime air cooling is driven by vegetation density whose effect is regulated by aridity through increasing transpiration. We test this hypothesis by deploying microclimate sensors across eight United States cities and investigating relationships of nighttime air temperature and urban vegetation throughout a summer season. Urban vegetation decreased nighttime air temperature in all cities. Vegetation cooling magnitudes increased as a function of aridity, resulting in the lowest cooling magnitude of 1.4 °C in the most humid city, Miami, FL, and 5.6 °C in the most arid city, Las Vegas, NV. Consistent with the differences among cities, the cooling effect increased during heat waves in all cities. For cities that experience a summer monsoon, Phoenix and Tucson, AZ, the cooling magnitude was larger during the more arid pre-monsoon season than during the more humid monsoon period. Our results place the large differences among previous measurements of vegetation nighttime urban cooling into a coherent physiological framework dependent on plant transpiration. This work informs urban heat risk planning by providing a framework for using urban vegetation as an environmental justice tool and can help identify where and when urban vegetation has the largest effect on mitigating nighttime temperatures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06e3ba61e6c64a9c84ee1a1b94b51b6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-06e3ba61e6c64a9c84ee1a1b94b51b6b2023-08-09T14:55:05ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-0116303401110.1088/1748-9326/abdf8aGreater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air coolingPeter C Ibsen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3436-9100Dorothy Borowy1Tyler Dell2Hattie Greydanus3Neha Gupta4David M Hondula5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2465-2671Thomas Meixner6Mary V Santelmann7Sheri A Shiflett8Michael C Sukop9Christopher M Swan10Michelle L Talal11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1159-9974Miguel Valencia12Mary K Wright13G Darrel Jenerette14Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside , Riverside, CA 92507, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland Baltimore County , Baltimore, MD 21250, United States of AmericaCivil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States of AmericaCollege of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University , Corvallis, OR 97331, United States of AmericaHydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, United States of AmericaSchool of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University , Tempe, AZ 85287, United States of AmericaHydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, United States of AmericaCollege of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University , Corvallis, OR 97331, United States of AmericaEnvironmental Sciences, University of North Carolina Wilmington , Wilmington, NC 28403, United States of AmericaDepartment of Earth and Environment, Florida International University , Miami, FL 33199, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland Baltimore County , Baltimore, MD 21250, United States of AmericaCollege of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University , Corvallis, OR 97331, United States of AmericaDepartment of Earth and Environment, Florida International University , Miami, FL 33199, United States of AmericaSchool of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University , Tempe, AZ 85287, United States of AmericaDepartment of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside , Riverside, CA 92507, United States of America; Center for Conservation Biology, University of California Riverside , Riverside, CA 92507, United States of AmericaHigh nighttime urban air temperatures increase health risks and economic vulnerability of people globally. While recent studies have highlighted nighttime heat mitigation effects of urban vegetation, the magnitude and variability of vegetation-derived urban nighttime cooling differs greatly among cities. We hypothesize that urban vegetation-derived nighttime air cooling is driven by vegetation density whose effect is regulated by aridity through increasing transpiration. We test this hypothesis by deploying microclimate sensors across eight United States cities and investigating relationships of nighttime air temperature and urban vegetation throughout a summer season. Urban vegetation decreased nighttime air temperature in all cities. Vegetation cooling magnitudes increased as a function of aridity, resulting in the lowest cooling magnitude of 1.4 °C in the most humid city, Miami, FL, and 5.6 °C in the most arid city, Las Vegas, NV. Consistent with the differences among cities, the cooling effect increased during heat waves in all cities. For cities that experience a summer monsoon, Phoenix and Tucson, AZ, the cooling magnitude was larger during the more arid pre-monsoon season than during the more humid monsoon period. Our results place the large differences among previous measurements of vegetation nighttime urban cooling into a coherent physiological framework dependent on plant transpiration. This work informs urban heat risk planning by providing a framework for using urban vegetation as an environmental justice tool and can help identify where and when urban vegetation has the largest effect on mitigating nighttime temperatures.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdf8aurban heatvegetation coolingecosystem servicearidityair temperature |
| spellingShingle | Peter C Ibsen Dorothy Borowy Tyler Dell Hattie Greydanus Neha Gupta David M Hondula Thomas Meixner Mary V Santelmann Sheri A Shiflett Michael C Sukop Christopher M Swan Michelle L Talal Miguel Valencia Mary K Wright G Darrel Jenerette Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling Environmental Research Letters urban heat vegetation cooling ecosystem service aridity air temperature |
| title | Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling |
| title_full | Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling |
| title_fullStr | Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling |
| title_short | Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling |
| title_sort | greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation derived air cooling |
| topic | urban heat vegetation cooling ecosystem service aridity air temperature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdf8a |
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