ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: We report here quantification of urban forest development on mitigating urban heat islands (UHI) and moderating the urban thermal environment. Our analysis integrates in-situ measurement of meteorological conditions, urban forest transpiration and RS/GIS approaches. Meteorological measurements and remote sensing images were employed to characterize the summer UHI effect in the downtown center of Shanghai while transpiration measurements of 17 typical urban forest tree species in Shanghai were analyzed to grade the cooling capacity of main urban afforestation tree species. Accordingly, the ecological service function value of urban forest to urban built environment was evaluated. Results showed that the typical urban forest tree species have different specific cooling capacities and show different effects on mitigating UHI intensity. For any afforestation project, effective tree species selection and plant configuration models are required to maximize the ecological service of urban forests in improving urban thermal environment and reducing building cooling energy demand in future.
