Home / Regular Issue / JST Vol. 29 (3) Jul. 2021 / JST-2488-2021

 

Effects of vegetation covers for outdoor thermal improvement: A Case Study at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria

Kabiru Haruna Abdulkarim, Azmiah Abd Ghafar, Lee Yoke Lai and Ismail Said

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, Volume 29, Issue 3, July 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjst.29.3.43

Keywords: Air temperature, campus outdoor, envi-met simulation, hot-and-dry climate, mean radiant temperature, urban climate

Published on: 31 July 2021

Frequent increases in temperature and related consequences have been the trending phenomenon for over ten decades, with a general rise of about 0.740C. This study evaluates the effects of different percentage covers of tree canopies for outdoor thermal improvement of campus areas in Bauchi, Nigeria. Firstly, the study involves on-site measurement of existing features on the site and the climatic conditions. Secondly, performing simulation for evaluation of the plant-surface-atmosphere interactions with Envi-met Version 4.4.2. The vegetation effects were evaluated for outdoor air temperature and mean radiant temperature (MRT) reduction. It is found that the maximum air temperature reduction of 3.380C and 24.240C of MRT were achieved with up to 45% tree canopy coverage. The mean air temperature and MRT reduction of 0.630C and 4.800C were respectively achieved with the same percentage coverage of the canopies. However, it was found that the thermal reduction effects of vegetation do not apply to every hour of the day. In essence, proper planning and implementation of campus outdoor spaces is the key factor in improving its thermal conditions. Thus, adhering to the practical recommendations bring a significant improvement in ameliorating the rise in atmospheric temperature on campus outdoors.

  • Abaas, Z. R. (2020). Impact of development on Baghdad’s urban microclimate and human thermal comfort. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 59(1), 275-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2019.12.040

  • Aboulnaga, M., & Mostafa, M. (2020). Climate change adaptation: Prioritising districts for urban green coverage to mitigate high temperatures and UHIE in developing countries. In Renewable Energy and Sustainable Buildings (pp. 825-837). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18488-9_68

  • Adunola, A. O. (2014). Evaluation of urban residential thermal comfort in relation to indoor and outdoor air temperatures in Ibadan, Nigeria. Building and Environment, 75, 190-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.02.007

  • Akande, O. K., & Adebamowo, M. A. (2010, April 9-11). Indoor thermal comfort for residential buildings in hot-dry climate of Nigeria. In Proceedings of Conference: Adapting to Change: New Thinking on Comfort (Vol. 911, pp. 133-144). Windsor, UK.

  • Al-Mohsen, M. A. S., Ismail, S., & Ismail, I. S. (2020). Improving thermal comfort through natural ventilation and passive solar systems in residential buildings in Iraq: Review paper. International Conference in Architecture and Civil Engineering, 59, 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1193-6_24

  • Brysse, K., Oreskes, N., O’Reilly, J., & Oppenheimer, M. (2013). Climate change prediction: Erring on the side of least drama? Global Environmental Change, 23(1), 327-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.10.008

  • Centre for Science and Environment. (2018). CSE analyses the new IPCC special report on global warming of 1.5°C (Press release). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004322714_cclc_2018-0009-002

  • Chatzinikolaou, E., Chalkias, C., & Dimopoulou, E. (2018). Urban microclimate improvement using ENVI-MET climate model. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives, 42(4), 69-76. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-4-69-2018

  • Davtalab, J., Deyhimi, S. P., Dessi, V., Hafezi, M. R., & Adib, M. (2020). The impact of green space structure on physiological equivalent temperature index in open space. Urban Climate, 31(October 2017), Article 100574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2019.100574

  • Dhakal, S. (2002). The urban heat environment and urban sustainability. In F. Moavenzadeh, K. Hanaki, & P. Baccini (Eds.), Future Cities : Dynamics and Sustainability (pp. 149-172). Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0365-0_8

  • Eludoyin, O. M., Adelekan, I. O., Webster, R., & Eludoyin, A. O. (2014). Air temperature, relative humidity, climate regionalization and thermal comfort of Nigeria. International Journal of Climatology, 34(6), 2000-2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3817

  • Eniolu, T., Kong, L., Lau, K. K., Yuan, C., & Ng, E. (2017). A study on the impact of shadow-cast and tree species on in-canyon and neighborhood ’ s thermal comfort. Building and Environment, 115, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.01.005

  • Evola, G., Gagliano, A., Fichera, A., Marletta, L., Martinico, F., Nocera, F., & Pagano, A. (2017). UHI effects and strategies to improve outdoor thermal comfort in dense and old neighbourhoods. Energy Procedia, 134, 692-701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.09.589

  • Forouzandeh, A. (2018). Numerical modeling validation for the microclimate thermal condition of semi-closed courtyard spaces between buildings. Sustainable Cities and Society, 36(August 2017), 327-345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.07.025

  • Frédéric, D., Du, C., Et, S., & Club, W. A. (2008). Atlas on regional integration in West Africa (Issue January). Retrieved October 13, 2019, from www.atlas-westafrica.org

  • Ghaffarianhoseini, A., Berardi, U., Ghaffarianhoseini, A., & Al-obaidi, K. (2019). Analyzing the thermal comfort conditions of outdoor spaces in a university campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Science of the Total Environment, 666, 1327-1345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.284

  • Hami, A., Abdi, B., Zarehaghi, D., & Bin, S. (2019). Assessing the thermal comfort e ff ects of green spaces : A systematic review of methods , parameters , and plants ’ attributes. Sustainable Cities and Society, 49(May), Article 101634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101634

  • Hassan, S. F., Tantawi, A. M. E., & Hashidu, U. S. (2017). Trends of rainfall and temperature over North-Eastern Nigeria (1949-2014). IOSR Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology, 11(05), 01-09. https://doi.org/10.9790/2402-1105010109

  • Hertel, D., & Schlink, U. (2019). Decomposition of urban temperatures for targeted climate change adaptation. Environmental Modelling and Software, 113, 20-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.11.015

  • Lai, D., Liu, W., Gan, T., Liu, K., & Chen, Q. (2019). A review of mitigating strategies to improve the thermal environment and thermal comfort in urban outdoor spaces. Science of the Total Environment, 661, 337-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.062

  • Lu, J., Li, Q., Zeng, L., Chen, J., Liu, G., Li, Y., Li, W., & Huang, K. (2017). A micro-climatic study on cooling effect of an urban park in a hot and humid climate. Sustainable Cities and Society, 32(April), 513-522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.04.017

  • Lucchi, E., Becherini, F., Di Tuccio, M. C., Troi, A., Frick, J., Roberti, F., Hermann, C., Fairnington, I., Mezzasalma, G., Pockelé, L., & Bernardi, A. (2017). Thermal performance evaluation and comfort assessment of advanced aerogel as blown-in insulation for historic buildings. Building and Environment, 122, 258-268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.06.019

  • Morakinyo, T. E., Dahanayake, K. W. D. K. C., Adegun, O. B., & Balogun, A. A. (2016). Modelling the effect of tree-shading on summer indoor and outdoor thermal condition of two similar buildings in a Nigerian University. Energy and Buildings, 130, 721-732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.08.087

  • Morakinyo, T. E., & Lam, Y. F. (2016). Simulation study on the impact of tree-configuration, planting pattern and wind condition on street-canyon’s micro-climate and thermal comfort. Building and Environment, 103, 262-275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.04.025

  • Morgan, M. R. (2006). Climate change 2001. In E. Graham & S. Lee (Eds.), Weather (p. 235). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1256/wea.58.04

  • Nasir, R. A., Ahmad, S. S., Zain-Ahmed, A., & Ibrahim, N. (2015). Adapting human comfort in an urban area: The role of tree shades towards urban regeneration. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 170, 369-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.047

  • Ozkeresteci, I., Crewe, K., Brazel, A. J., & Bruse, M. (2003). Use and evaluation of the envi-met model for environmental design and planning: An experiment on linear parks. In Proceedings of the 21st International Cartographic Conference (ICC) (pp. 10-16). Document Transformation Technologies. https://doi.org/ISBN: 0-958-46093-0

  • Peeters, A., Shashua-Bar, L., Meir, S., Shmulevich, R. R., Caspi, Y., Weyl, M., Motzafi-Haller, W., & Angel, N. (2020). A decision support tool for calculating effective shading in urban streets. Urban Climate, 34(April 2019), Article 100672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100672

  • Perini, K., Chokhachian, A., Dong, S., & Auer, T. (2017). Modeling and simulating urban outdoor comfort: Coupling ENVI-Met and TRNSYS by grasshopper. Energy and Buildings, 152, 373-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.07.061

  • Roth, M., & Lim, V. H. (2017). Evaluation of canopy-layer air and mean radiant temperature simulations by a microclimate model over a tropical residential neighbourhood. Building and Environment, 112, 177-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.11.026

  • Salata, F., Golasi, I., de Lieto Vollaro, R., & de Lieto Vollaro, A. (2016). Urban microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort. A proper procedure to fit ENVI-met simulation outputs to experimental data. Sustainable Cities and Society, 26, 318-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.07.005

  • Shahzad, U. (2015). Global warming: Causes, effects and solutions. Durreesamin Journal, 1(4), 1-7.

  • Shinzato, P., Simon, H., Silva Duarte, D. H., & Bruse, M. (2019). Calibration process and parametrization of tropical plants using ENVI-met V4–Sao Paulo case study. Architectural Science Review, 62(2), 112-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2018.1563522

  • Soydan, O. (2020). Effects of landscape composition and patterns on land surface temperature: Urban heat island case study for Nigde, Turkey. Urban Climate, 34(December 2019), Article 100688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100688

  • Spangenberg, J., Shinzato, P., Johansson, E., & Duarte, D. (2008). Simulation of the influence of vegetation on microclimate and thermal comfort in the city of São Paulo. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Arborização Urbana, 3(2), 1-19.

  • Sylvester, O., & Abdulquadir, I. (2015). An Assessment of the evidence of climate change in Bauchi, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 19(3), 375-381. https://doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v19i3.5

  • Taleghani, M., Sailor, D., & Ban-Weiss, G. A. (2016). Micrometeorological simulations to predict the impacts of heat mitigation strategies on pedestrian thermal comfort in a Los Angeles neighborhood. Environmental Research Letters, 11(2), Article 024003. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/2/024003

  • Tong, S., Wong, N. H., Tan, C. L., Jusuf, S. K., Ignatius, M., & Tan, E. (2017). Impact of urban morphology on microclimate and thermal comfort in northern China. Solar Energy, 155, 212-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.06.027

  • Tsoka, S. (2017). Investigating the relationship between urban spaces morphology and local microclimate: A study for Thessaloniki. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 38, 674-681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2017.03.148

  • Tsoka, S., Tsikaloudaki, A., & Theodosiou, T. (2018). Analyzing the ENVI-met microclimate model’s performance and assessing cool materials and urban vegetation applications – A review. Sustainable Cities and Society, 43(August), 55-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.08.009

  • Wong, N. H., Tan, A. Y. K., Chen, Y., Sekar, K., Tan, P. Y., Chan, D., Chiang, K., & Wong, N. C. (2010). Thermal evaluation of vertical greenery systems for building walls. Building and Environment, 45(3), 663-672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2009.08.005

  • Wong, N. H., Yok, T. P., & Yu, C. (2007). Study of thermal performance of extensive rooftop greenery systems in the tropical climate. Building and Environment, 42(1), 25-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.07.030

  • Yahia, M. W., & Johansson, E. (2014). Landscape interventions in improving thermal comfort in the hot dry city of Damascus, Syria-The example of residential spaces with detached buildings. Landscape and Urban Planning, 125, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.014

  • Yahia, M. W., Johansson, E., Thorsson, S., Lindberg, F., & Rasmussen, M. I. (2018). Effect of urban design on microclimate and thermal comfort outdoors in warm-humid Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. International Journal of Biometeorology, 62(3), 373-385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-017-1380-7

  • Yang, Y., Zhou, D., Gao, W., Zhang, Z., Chen, W., & Peng, W. (2018). Simulation on the impacts of the street tree pattern on built summer thermal comfort in cold region of China. Sustainable Cities and Society, 37, 563-580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.09.033

  • Yıldırım, M. (2020). Shading in the outdoor environments of climate-friendly hot and dry historical streets: The passageways of Sanliurfa, Turkey. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 80, Article 106318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2019.106318

ISSN 0128-7680

e-ISSN 2231-8526

Article ID

JST-2488-2021

Download Full Article PDF

Share this article

Recent Articles