The Role of Urban Trees in Temperature Reduction at Selected Building in Unimas

Nurul Syahadah, Binti Mohd Nasir (2017) The Role of Urban Trees in Temperature Reduction at Selected Building in Unimas. [Final Year Project Report] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Urban forest is important due to their potential contributions to the physiological, ecological and economic benefits for the urban society. Trees are planted in urban setting for the improvement of the quality of life by giving aesthetic value to the surrounding buildings while lowering the air temperature of the environment. The main purpose of this project is to assess the role of urban trees in temperature reduction at selected buildings in University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) namely; Allamanda College, Faculty of Engineering, Dewan Tun Abdul Razak (DETAR), Centre of Teaching Facilities 2 (CTF 2), and Faculty of Economic and Business. Nine urban trees species namely Callistemon citrinus, Tabebuia pentaphylla, Mimusops elengi, Samanea saman, Bucida buceras, Filicium decipiens, Syzygium campanulatum, Livistona chinensis and Callerya atropurpurea were evaluated. The assessments include tree DBH, crown diameter tree, height and planting distance in order to measure temperature reduction, relative humidity and light intensity. Generally no distinct relationships were observed for all the physical parameters of the tree species and the amount of air temperature reduced. C. atropurpurea trees located at the Faculty of Engineering and T. pentaphylla planted at Allamanda College recorded air temperature reduction of 1.2ᴼC while a higher reduction was recorded for F. decipiens at DETAR with 1.5ᴼC. Smaller size tree DBH such as S. campanalatum was able to lower the air temperature by only 0.2ᴼC while S. saman only reduced temperature by 0.6ᴼC. The growing environment differs from one building to another in terms of planting distance from the buildings and among the tree species themselves, thus affecting their crown diameter and overall growth performance. Trees planted should have adequate spacing so as to prevent future conflicts with the crown and rooting spaces. These practices will probably reduce the competition for space above and below ground and produce healthy crown thus attaining sustainable urban trees status while mitigating the urban heat island. The data obtained will assist the management in the planting, maintaining and planning for future replanting programmes.

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