Metodologías de identificación de islas de calor urbanas y la influencia del arbolado urbano en su mitigación, un acercamiento desde el estado del arte

Abstract

Large cities around the world are currently facing environmental challenges as a result of population growth and increased urbanization. Densely built-up areas present high temperatures compared to their rural surroundings and the quality of life of the inhabitants. This increase in temperature is known as the effect of Urban Heat Islands (ICU), which is generated due to the high concentration of buildings with materials such as concrete that concentrate heat, and due to the scarce tree vegetation due to the dynamics of transformation of soils with vegetal covers to extensive urban areas. The city of Bogotá is no stranger to this effect of climatic conditions. For this reason, the José Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden of Bogotá (JBB-JCM) joins efforts to contribute to its mitigation, based on its mission of research and conservation of the city's vegetation cover. This study is part of the contribution to the knowledge of this effect and its relationship with urban trees from the state of the art on the methodologies used for the identification of ICU through the documentary review of publications published from 2010 to the present and the approach of methodological proposals in situ. Plant covers play a key role in reducing the thermal load of cities. Several authors agree that the physiological, structural and compositional characteristics influence the ability to regulate temperature, therefore it is different from one species to another. From the analysis of the composition (160 species and 58 families) and origin of the urban trees of the city of Bogotá, it was possible to determine that the majority of the species (53.8%) are introduced. The evaluation of physiological and structural characteristics then becomes a criterion for the selection of species as a strategy for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Finally, three methodological proposals for in situ evaluation are proposed, two of them at a macro and micro scale for the evaluation of the influence of trees in the attenuation of ICU from the measurement of temperature and relative humidity in areas with vegetation covers and urban areas. ; and a methodology focused on the study of the impact of ICUs on plant covers by measuring the transpiration rate and a visual analysis of the phytosanitary status of 5 species located in two locations in the city (Puente Aranda and Chapinero).