Everyone knows how trees add to the beauty of a
neighborhood. Walking along a tree-lined street is much more pleasant than one
without. Scientists are now looking at the relationship between microclimates
and trees. Do trees change microclimates? If so, exactly how do trees affect
them? Read on for the latest information about how the trees on your street can
affect your climate.
Microclimates and Trees
There isn’t much one can do about the climate. If you live
in a desert, the climate is virtually certain to remain hot and dry during your
lifetime. That doesn’t apply to microclimates,
however. While climate affects an entire region, a microclimate is local. The
term “microclimate” refers to atmospheric conditions that are different in one
area from those in surrounding areas. It can mean areas as small as a few
square feet (meters) or it can refer to larger areas of many square miles
(kilometers).
That means that there can be microclimates under trees. This
makes sense if you think about sitting under trees in the heat of a summer
afternoon. The microclimate is decidedly different than when you’re in full
sun.
Do Trees Change Microclimates?
The relationship between microclimates and trees is a real
one. Trees have been found to alter microclimates and even create specific ones
under trees. The extent of these modifications varies depending on the
characteristics of a tree’s canopy and leaves.
Microclimates that affect human comfort include
environmental variables like solar radiation, air temperature, surface
temperatures, humidity, and wind speed. Trees in cities have been shown to
modify these factors in a variety of ways.
One of the reasons homeowners plant trees is to provide
shade during hot summers. The air under a shade tree is obviously cooler than
outside the shady area, since the tree’s canopy blocks the sun’s rays. That’s
not the only way trees change microclimates.
How Do Trees Affect Microclimates?
Trees can block sunrays from anything within their shade.
That prevents solar radiation from heating the surrounding buildings and
surfaces as well as cools the area. Microclimates under trees are altered in
other ways too. Trees cool the air by the evaporation of moisture from their
leaves and branches. In this way, street trees function as natural air
conditioners in the neighborhood.
Trees also provide a warming effect on a microclimate.
Trees, especially evergreens,
can block the chilly winter winds that blow down a street, slowing the wind
speed and warming the air. Certain tree species are better at providing cooling
and wind-blocking benefits, something to consider when selecting street trees
for a particular area.
Everyone knows how trees add to the beauty of a
neighborhood. Walking along a tree-lined street is much more pleasant than one
without. Scientists are now looking at the relationship between microclimates
and trees. Do trees change microclimates? If so, exactly how do trees affect
them? Read on for the latest information about how the trees on your street can
affect your climate.
Microclimates and Trees
There isn’t much one can do about the climate. If you live
in a desert, the climate is virtually certain to remain hot and dry during your
lifetime. That doesn’t apply to microclimates,
however. While climate affects an entire region, a microclimate is local. The
term “microclimate” refers to atmospheric conditions that are different in one
area from those in surrounding areas. It can mean areas as small as a few
square feet (meters) or it can refer to larger areas of many square miles
(kilometers).
That means that there can be microclimates under trees. This
makes sense if you think about sitting under trees in the heat of a summer
afternoon. The microclimate is decidedly different than when you’re in full
sun.
Do Trees Change Microclimates?
The relationship between microclimates and trees is a real
one. Trees have been found to alter microclimates and even create specific ones
under trees. The extent of these modifications varies depending on the
characteristics of a tree’s canopy and leaves.
Microclimates that affect human comfort include
environmental variables like solar radiation, air temperature, surface
temperatures, humidity, and wind speed. Trees in cities have been shown to
modify these factors in a variety of ways.
One of the reasons homeowners plant trees is to provide
shade during hot summers. The air under a shade tree is obviously cooler than
outside the shady area, since the tree’s canopy blocks the sun’s rays. That’s
not the only way trees change microclimates.
How Do Trees Affect Microclimates?
Trees can block sunrays from anything within their shade.
That prevents solar radiation from heating the surrounding buildings and
surfaces as well as cools the area. Microclimates under trees are altered in
other ways too. Trees cool the air by the evaporation of moisture from their
leaves and branches. In this way, street trees function as natural air
conditioners in the neighborhood.
Trees also provide a warming effect on a microclimate.
Trees, especially evergreens,
can block the chilly winter winds that blow down a street, slowing the wind
speed and warming the air. Certain tree species are better at providing cooling
and wind-blocking benefits, something to consider when selecting street trees
for a particular area.