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SEEFOR 3 (2): 79-85
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15177/seefor.12-09   

Original scientific paper

Thermic Attenuation on Concrete Sidewalk under Urban Trees. Case Study: Santa Marta – Colombia

Carlos Devia ^1*, Andrés Torres ²

¹ Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
² Facultad de Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia                                                                                                 

* Corresponding author: e-mail:  

Citation:
DEVIA C, TORRES A 2012 Thermic Attenuation on Concrete Sidewalk under Urban Trees. Case Study: Santa Marta – Colombia. South-east Eur for 3 (2): 79-85. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15177/seefor.12-09 

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Abstract

Background and Purpose: Urban trees provide a number of services including shade and thermal attenuation. This is related to morphological and physiological characteristics of trees and may vary between species and even between individuals of the same species. The aim of this work was to identify thermic attenuations on concrete sidewalks under six tropical urban trees with six different types of shadows.
Material and Methods: In Santa Marta City, Colombia (10º12´20” N, 74º13´33” W, 10 meters above sea level and 31ºC temperature), we selected six trees (species) with different types of shade, and they are evaluated for soil temperature and the temperature in the shade and off throughout the day for four different days of the year. ANOVA and t-tests were performed with R program in order to identify the influence of the specie, the day, the hour and the position (at the thermic comfort level, surface temperature) on the temperature results obtained. 
Results and Conclusion: Some trees have the most translucent shadows most likely due to nictinastic movements and consequently less temperature attenuation. On the other hand, other trees have denser shadows and can generate more substantial thermic attenuations. Regarding temperature data, the hour of the day shows the greatest influence on the variability of air temperature and the species shows the greatest influence on the variability of surface temperature. Honey berry (Meliccoca bijugatus) and Malay almond (Terminalia atappa) trees have denser shadows and can generate more substantial thermic attenuations. Tree physiology can play an important role in temperature attenuation in cities as a result of shadow effects and can be applied as a criterion to select urban trees in tropical cities.

Keywords: tropical trees, temperature, shadow, heat islands, urban trees 

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© 2015 by the Croatian Forest Research Institute. This is an Open Access paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).