Peer-reviewed articles 17,970 +



Title: IMPACT OF URBAN VEGETATION ON SOLAR IRRADIANCE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN THE CITY OF ZAGREB

IMPACT OF URBAN VEGETATION ON SOLAR IRRADIANCE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN THE CITY OF ZAGREB
Luka Rumora; Ivan Brkic ; Mario Miler; Damir Medak
10.5593/sgem2024v/6.2
1314-2704
English
24
6.2
•    Prof. DSc. Oleksandr Trofymchuk, UKRAINE 
•    Prof. Dr. hab. oec. Baiba Rivza, LATVIA
Urban areas are characterized by very intense and complex interactions between built objects and natural elements, especially in terms of the impact they have on the local microclimate. One of the most important aspects of this interaction is the way in which vegetation influences incident solar radiation, which has a major impact on energy consumption, comfort and the overall sustainability of urban areas. In this study, we focus on the city of Zagreb, where we conduct a detailed analysis of the impact of urban vegetation on solar radiation, comparing areas with and without high vegetation. For this purpose, we calculated a digital surface model (DSM) from high-resolution LiDAR data. LiDAR technology enables very good mapping of both the terrain and above-ground features such as buildings and vegetation. The creation of two different DSMs - one with high vegetation and one without - allows us to isolate the specific effects of vegetation on solar radiation.
The analysis was performed in WhiteboxTools using the TimeInDaylight command, which calculates the daylight in a landscape over a given period of time. This command takes into account the position of the sun and topographic features in the DSMs for accurate modeling of solar radiation.
The result shows that solar radiation is different in areas with and without dense vegetation. The study found that tall vegetation, such as trees, greatly reduces solar radiation on the ground and surrounding buildings. A reduced impact of solar radiation can lead to cooler surface temperatures and a lower cooling demand in summer, contributing to higher thermal comfort in urban areas. Without vegetation, radiation would be much higher, increasing heat build-up and thus the extent of the urban heat island.
[1] Shashua-Bar, L., Pearlmutter, D. and Erell, E., The influence of trees and grass on outdoor thermal comfort in a hot-arid environment, International journal of climatology, 31(10), pp.1498-1506, 2011, doi: 10.1002/joc.2177
[2] Ali-Toudert, F. and Mayer, H., Effects of asymmetry, galleries, overhanging facades and vegetation on thermal comfort in urban street canyons, Solar energy, 81(6), pp.742-754, 2007, doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2006.10.007
[3] Wong, N.H., Tan, C.L., Kolokotsa, D.D. and Takebayashi, H., Greenery as a mitigation and adaptation strategy to urban heat. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2(3), pp.166-181, 2021, doi: 10.1038/s43017-020-00129-5
[4] Lingfors, D., Bright, J.M., Engerer, N.A., Ahlberg, J., Killinger, S. and Widen, J., Comparing the capability of low-and high-resolution LiDAR data with application to solar resource assessment, roof type classification and shading analysis, Applied Energy, 205, pp.1216-1230, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.045
[5] Bognar, A., Loonen, R.C. and Hensen, J.L., Calculating solar irradiance without shading geometry: a point cloud-based method. Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 14(5), pp.480-502, 2021, doi: 10.1080/19401493.2021.1971765
This research was funded by the Croatian Science Foundation under the Grant. No. IP-2022-10-2639: “Fusion of multitemporal optical and radar microsatellite data for land cover change detection” (FORMAT).
conference
Proceedings of 24th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2024
24th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2024, 27 - 30 November, 2024
Proceedings Paper
STEF92 Technology
International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEM
SWS Scholarly Society; Acad Sci Czech Republ; Latvian Acad Sci; Polish Acad Sci; Russian Acad Sci; Serbian Acad Sci and Arts; Natl Acad Sci Ukraine; Natl Acad Sci Armenia; Sci Council Japan; European Acad Sci, Arts and Letters; Acad Fine Arts Zagreb Croatia; Croatian Acad Sci and Arts; Acad Sci Moldova; Montenegrin Acad Sci and Arts; Georgian Acad Sci; Acad Fine Arts and Design Bratislava; Russian Acad Arts; Turkish Acad Sci.
315-320
27 - 30 November, 2024
website
10190
timeindaylight, whiteboxtools, LiDAR, DSM, high vegetation

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