Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (B.S.)--University of California, Berkeley.

Three tree species, Freeman maple (Acer x. freemanii), swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor (Willd.)) and shingle oak (Quercus imbricaria (Michx.)) were tested before and after pruning to determine the effectiveness of pruning on reducing drag and bending moment. Pruning methods were thin, reduce and raise and meet the requirements set by the American National Standard Institute A300 standards for Tree Care Operations Trees, Shrub, and Other Woody Plant Maintenance - Standard Practices (Pruning). Trees were tested up to speeds of 22.4m*s-1 over 1.6km by driving them in the bed of a truck. Drag, based on a centroid of the crown, and a bending moment was calculated. Drag and bending moment were also normalized by tree mass and crown area. Reduction pruning worked more effectively for Freeman maple and raise pruning for swamp white oak at reducing drag. Simple to measure tree characteristics were analyzed to determine the best predictors of drag and bending moment in the field. Tree mass frequently was the best predictor of drag and bending moment. Information should be used with caution due to the fact that the trees tested were small stature and a limited number of trees were tested. / Master of Science

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This study determined winter and summer shading coefficients for six commonly used landscape trees in Tucson using a photographic dot-matrix method. Tree types were developed from this data reflecting canopy density, shape, and foliage periods, then applied to SPS and MICROPAS computer programs to model effects of tree shade on annual energy loads for three residential construction types. Statistical analysis showed pruning to have a significant effect for 5 of the 6 species tested. Significant differences were also found among species and within species due to seasonal effects in foliage density. Shading scenarios manipulated the number and location of tree types were modeled. Greatest net annual savings were from 3 African sumac trees located on the west side of a masonry house typical of the 1950s (121). Shade from tree species found to have significantly different shading coefficients (10%) did not substantially increase energy savings ($5-12).

This study measures the shading properties of tree branches as they affect the amount of available sunlight (insolation) reaching structures placed within the visible tree shadow. Measurement was accomplished by placing a grid in throughout the entire shadow pattern formed, by each study tree between the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm. Data was collected at each point of the grid to determine the percent insolation blockage or penetration, through a tree canopy. This data was then transferred to a graphed tree shadow pattern and interpolated to create tree shading density contours in the tree shadow pattern. Data was analyzed to determine the effects of sample tree shadow patterns upon the passive solar heat gain of windows located within the tree shadow. This study offers as a guide to future research, the beginning of a tree typology. The typology categories trees commonly grown and available in Virginia, into form and size categories. The typology also begins to assimilate data collected by other researchers on summer and winter canopy densities, leaf drop, and leaf onset periods. The typology creates a framework for future research and serves as a means to record which trees have been investigated, and which have not. Another attribute of the typology is its potential benefit to designers. It can be utilized as a tree selection tool for energy-conserving landscape designs. Several additional questions and suggested improvements for data collection have been provided for those who care to continue research into this area. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Our climate and our cities are changing. Though their changes are not completely dependent upon one another, there is still a coupling effect between them. This study assesses the role of urban form as it pertains to elements of climate change. It is comprised of two essays intended for publication. The first of these essays addresses the feedbacks between urban form, energy consumption, and rising global temperatures. The second essay looks at one particular factor of urban form--tree type--as it pertains to air pollution and urban heat island mitigation. Both papers use the analytical approaches necessary to answer the questions they pose, not ubiquitous over-generalizing modeling software or methods found often in the literature. As seen in the analyses, this practice--known as geocomputation--allows for a deeper and more accurate description of complex spatial relationships.

Shade trees’ implementation into cocoa agroforestry systems in tropical West Africa has proven to have a high potential in increasing farm resilience and mitigating climate change. However, no studies have yet examined the potential future climate suitability for shade trees in the region, which is important when deciding which shade trees to implement. The aim of this study was to predict the current and future climate suitability of shade trees currently used in cocoa agroforestry systems and give recommendations based on the results. It also aimed to examine how different levels of shadetree diversity can impact a farm’s microclimate and how this can be linked to climate suitability for cocoa. To assess climate suitability, a species distribution model was performed for a baseline scenario with the current climate defined as 1970-2000 and for two future scenarios, SSP126 and SSP585, for the time period 2041-2060. To measure microclimate, a microclimatic study was performed in the Ashanti region of Ghana on 16 farms during mid March to mid May 2023 measuring the maximum temperature above cocoa canopy and 15 cm above the ground for three different treatments. The results showed that three species, Khaya senegalensis, Ceiba pentandra and Albiziazygia, were predicted to have the largest habitat areas of climate suitability in West Africa for several of the scenarios. However, it was also identified that the model could be improved when it comes tothe inclusion of more bioclimatic variables, global circulation models (GCMs) and for which futures cenarios to model for. The microclimatic study showed that both farms with a low and high level of shade tree diversity have a significant possibility to buffer the maximum temperature above cocoa canopy, with low diversity farms having a larger buffering capacity. The study also showed that areaswhere several shade tree species are predicted to have a climatically suitable habitat decreased for future scenarios, which could be a risk for the possibility to mitigate climate change for cocoa with shade tree implementation in the future. / Att implementera skuggträd i kakaoskogslantbruk i tropiska Västafrika har visat sig ha en högpotential att öka resiliens på gårdar såväl som att motverka effekterna av klimatförändringar iregionen. Däremot har inga tidigare studier hittills undersökt vilka skuggträdsarter som väntas varalämpliga i framtida klimat. Syftet med den här studien var att uppskatta nutida och framtidalämplighet för skuggträd som nu används i kakaoskogslantbruk och ge rekommendationer utifrånresultaten. Studien hade också som syfte att undersöka hur olika nivåer av diversitet av skuggträd på gårdarna påverkade deras mikroklimat samt hur detta kan kopplas till klimatlämplighet för kakao. Klimatlämplighet uppskattades med en distributionsmodell (eng: “species distribution model”), med ett basscenario för nutida klimat satt som 1970-2000 samt med två framtida klimatscenarier, SSP126 och SSP585, för tidsperioden 2041-2060. Mikroklimat mättes genom en fältstudie som genomfördes på 16 gårdar i Ashantiregionen i Ghana under perioden mitten av mars till mitten av maj. Mikroklimatet mättes för den maximalt uppnådda temperaturen ovanför kakaoträdens lövverk och 15 cm ovanför marken. Resultaten visade att tre arter, Khaya senegalensis, Ceiba pentandra och Albiziazygia, hade störst område där de var lämpliga för flest klimatscenarier i Västafrika. Dessutom identifierades flera sätt att förbättra modellen, bland annat genom att inkludera fler bioklimatiska variabler, fler globala cirkulationsmodeller (GCMs) och genom att förutspå utvecklingen för fler framtida klimatscenarier. För mikroklimat visade resultaten att både en hög och låg diversitet av skuggträd resulterade i att den maximala temperaturen minskade ovanför skuggträdens lövverk, och den minskade mer där diversiteten var låg. Resultaten visade även att för framtida klimatscenarier minskar områdena där flera skuggträd är lämpliga, vilket kan vara problematiskt för möjligheten att bemöta klimatförändringar i framtiden genom skuggträdsimplementering.

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