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The role of urban trees in reducing land surface temperatures in European cities

Author

Listed:
  • Jonas Schwaab

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich)

  • Ronny Meier

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich)

  • Gianluca Mussetti

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich)

  • Sonia Seneviratne

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich)

  • Christine Bürgi

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich)

  • Edouard L. Davin

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich
    University of Bern)

Abstract

Urban trees influence temperatures in cities. However, their effectiveness at mitigating urban heat in different climatic contexts and in comparison to treeless urban green spaces has not yet been sufficiently explored. Here, we use high-resolution satellite land surface temperatures (LSTs) and land-cover data from 293 European cities to infer the potential of urban trees to reduce LSTs. We show that urban trees exhibit lower temperatures than urban fabric across most European cities in summer and during hot extremes. Compared to continuous urban fabric, LSTs observed for urban trees are on average 0-4 K lower in Southern European regions and 8-12 K lower in Central Europe. Treeless urban green spaces are overall less effective in reducing LSTs, and their cooling effect is approximately 2-4 times lower than the cooling induced by urban trees. By revealing continental-scale patterns in the effect of trees and treeless green spaces on urban LST our results highlight the importance of considering and further investigating the climate-dependent effectiveness of heat mitigation measures in cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Schwaab & Ronny Meier & Gianluca Mussetti & Sonia Seneviratne & Christine Bürgi & Edouard L. Davin, 2021. "The role of urban trees in reducing land surface temperatures in European cities," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-26768-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26768-w
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Neier, Thomas, 2023. "The green divide: A spatial analysis of segregation-based environmental inequality in Vienna," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    2. Shengbiao Wu & Bin Chen & Chris Webster & Bing Xu & Peng Gong, 2023. "Improved human greenspace exposure equality during 21st century urbanization," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Eggimann, Sven, 2022. "Expanding urban green space with superblocks," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    4. Zamponi, Virginia & O’Brien, Kevin & Jensen, Erik & Feldhaus, Brandon & Moore, Russell & Lynch, Christopher J. & Gore, Ross, 2023. "Understanding and assessing demographic (in)equity resulting from extreme heat and direct sunlight exposure due to lack of tree canopies in Norfolk, VA using agent-based modeling," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 483(C).

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