Journal article
Balancing fire risk and human thermal comfort in fire-prone urban landscapes
Tania A MacLeod, Amy K Hahs, Trent D Penman
PLOS ONE | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2019
Abstract
Vegetation in urban areas provides many essential ecosystem services. These services may be indirect, such as carbon sequestration and biological diversity, or direct, including microclimate regulation and cultural values. As the global population is becoming ever more urbanized these services will be increasingly vital to the quality of life in urban areas. Due to the combined effects of shading and evapotranspiration, trees have the potential to cool urban microclimates and mitigate urban heat, reduce thermal discomfort and help to create comfortable outdoor spaces for people. Understory vegetation in the form of shrubs and grass layers are also increasingly recognized for the positive rol..
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Grants
Awarded by Long Research Project B
Funding Acknowledgements
The research presented here was performed while TM was undertaking the subject FRST90077 Long Research Project B under the supervision of TDP and AKH as part of the Master Forest Ecosystem Science at The University of Melbourne. We would like to thank James MacLeod for assistance in preparing Fig 1 and Phil Zylstra for advice in the use of the Forest Flammability Model.