The role of urban forest and climate change

• Ano de defesa: 2023
• Autor(a) principal: Oliva, Gustavo Torquatro
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Climate change; Enhanced vegetation index; Floresta urbana; Ilhas de calor urbano; Índice de vegetação melhorado; Modelo de regressão múltipla; Mudanças climáticas; Multiple regression model; Nature-based solutions; Soluções baseadas na natureza; Urban forest; Urban heat islands
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/11/11150/tde-05022024-152841/

The role of the urban forest is extremely important in large cities, given their vulnerability to climate change. These urban green areas play a crucial role in promoting better air quality and reducing heat island effects. In São Paulo, the selected models indicate that in order to cool the average urban temperature of São Paulo by 0.5°C, increases of 17.50 and 22.56 percent points (p.p) would be needed, around 20 p.p for the rainy and dry seasons, respectively. In Piracicaba, the selected models (R2 around 60%) indicate that to cool the average urban temperature in Piracicaba by 0.5°C, increases of 25.4 and 9.3 percent points (p.p) would be needed for the rainy and dry seasons, respectively. For the relative humidity variable, models were obtained as a function of tree cover and other variables relating to land use with coefficients of determination of around 65% for both seasons. These results constitute essential information for implementing urban afforestation policies. Increases of this magnitude can be achieved by afforesting roads (not yet afforested), increasing the number of trees on roads that are already afforested and implementing new green spaces.