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Riccardo Buccolieri is associate professor of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Salento in the Micrometeorology Laboratory. His research, both experimental and modelling, deals with the study of the urban microclimate, flow and pollutant dispersion in urban areas. He is co-author of research papers in international journals, conference proceedings as well as book chapters.
The Apulian Region (Italy) is a socio-ecological system shaped by the millennial co-evolution between human actions and ecological processes. It is characterized by monumental olive groves protected from Regional Law 14/2007 for the cultural value of the landscape, currently threatened by the spread of a devastating phytopathogen, the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa. The aim of this paper is to apply landscape resilience analysis focusing on ecosystem services to understand the potential effects and trade-offs of regeneration policies in a peri-urban area characterized by monumental olive groves land cover. The study involved land-cover and land-use analysis, supported by a survey on the inhabitants and an ecosystem services analysis. The results showed a mismatch between the agroecosystem and the social and economic use linked to leisure or hospitality. The study area was defined as a peri-urban landscape characterized by tourist use. From the interviews of the users, the cultural heritage of olive groves seems linked to the presence of olive trees like a status quo of the landscape and olive oil productions. The culture aspect could thus be preserved by changing the type of olive trees. In addition, the analysis showed that the microclimate could be preserved and enhanced in terms of air temperature and thermal comfort, by replacing the olive trees with varieties resistant to Xylella, such as cv. Leccino. Therefore, regeneration policies that promote replacing dead olive groves with new olive trees could be efficient to stimulate social components of the landscape and improve the resilience of ecosystem services in peri-urban areas in the interest of the cultural heritage of the users and benefits that they provide. An ecosystem services analysis at a local scale could be a strategy for an integrated regenerate approach between land-use and land-cover with social, ecological, and economic evolutions vision orientated to a sustainable and desirable future.
Teodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Valentina Catanzaro; Luigi De Bellis; Lorenzo Cotrozzi; Giacomo Lorenzini; Marzia Vergine; Andrea Luvisi. How Ecosystem Services Can Strengthen the Regeneration Policies for Monumental Olive Groves Destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa Bacterium in a Peri-Urban Area. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8778 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Elisa Gatto, Riccardo Buccolieri, Valentina Catanzaro, Luigi De Bellis, Lorenzo Cotrozzi, Giacomo Lorenzini, Marzia Vergine, Andrea Luvisi. How Ecosystem Services Can Strengthen the Regeneration Policies for Monumental Olive Groves Destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa Bacterium in a Peri-Urban Area. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):8778.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Valentina Catanzaro; Luigi De Bellis; Lorenzo Cotrozzi; Giacomo Lorenzini; Marzia Vergine; Andrea Luvisi. 2021. "How Ecosystem Services Can Strengthen the Regeneration Policies for Monumental Olive Groves Destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa Bacterium in a Peri-Urban Area." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 8778.
This study analyses the interactions and impacts between multiple factors i.e., urban greening, building layout, and meteorological conditions that characterise the urban microclimate and thermal comfort in the urban environment. The focus was on two neighbourhoods of Lecce city (southern Italy) characterised through field campaigns and modelling simulations on a typical hot summer day. Field campaigns were performed to collect greening, building geometry, and microclimate data, which were employed in numerical simulations of several greening scenarios using the Computational Fluid Dynamics-based and microclimate model ENVI-met. Results show that, on a typical summer day, trees may lead to an average daily decrease of air temperature by up to 1.00 °C and an improvement of thermal comfort in terms of Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) by up to 5.53 °C and Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) by up to 0.53. This decrease is more evident when the urban greening (in terms of green surfaces and trees) is increased by 1266 m2 in the first neighbourhood and 1988 m2 in the second one, with respect to the current scenario, proving that shading effect mainly contributes to improving the urban microclimate during daytime. On the contrary, the trapping effect of heat, stored by the surfaces during the day and released during the evening, induces an increase of the spatially averaged MRT by up to 2 °C during the evenings and a slight deterioration of thermal comfort, but only locally where the concentration of high LAD trees is higher. This study contributes to a better understanding of the ecosystem services provided by greening with regard to microclimate and thermal comfort within an urban environment for several hours of the day. It adds knowledge about the role of green areas in a Mediterranean city, an important hot spot of climate change, and thus it can be a guide for important urban regeneration plans.
Elisa Gatto; Fabio Ippolito; Gennaro Rispoli; Oliver Carlo; Jose Santiago; Eeva Aarrevaara; Rohinton Emmanuel; Riccardo Buccolieri. Analysis of Urban Greening Scenarios for Improving Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Neighbourhoods of Lecce (Southern Italy). Climate 2021, 9, 116 .
AMA StyleElisa Gatto, Fabio Ippolito, Gennaro Rispoli, Oliver Carlo, Jose Santiago, Eeva Aarrevaara, Rohinton Emmanuel, Riccardo Buccolieri. Analysis of Urban Greening Scenarios for Improving Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Neighbourhoods of Lecce (Southern Italy). Climate. 2021; 9 (7):116.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElisa Gatto; Fabio Ippolito; Gennaro Rispoli; Oliver Carlo; Jose Santiago; Eeva Aarrevaara; Rohinton Emmanuel; Riccardo Buccolieri. 2021. "Analysis of Urban Greening Scenarios for Improving Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Neighbourhoods of Lecce (Southern Italy)." Climate 9, no. 7: 116.
To improve ventilation efficiency and reduce pollution concentration in urban spaces, eco-strategies, including greening, have been suggested. However, there is still very little evidence to assert the benefits of such greening options, particularly at urban street intersections. Therefore, in this work, air flow and pollutant dispersion within urban-like three-way, four-way, and roundabouts intersections are investigated with three simple and five combined greening layouts. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes model was conducted considering multiple wind directions. The ventilation efficiency was evaluated using the ventilation indices purging flow rate (PFR) and net escape velocity (NEV). The investigation of simple greening layouts shows that shrubs alone may enhance increase ventilation (i.e., increase PFR and NEV), and trees could increase the pollutant concentration at the pedestrian level. A comparison of greening layouts combining trees and shrubs shows that the presence of greening reduces ventilation and worsens the pollution condition at street intersections, except for shrubs located in the central zone within roundabouts. Specifically, NEV decreases by 16%–43% at four-way and three-way intersections owing to the presence of greening. Greening layouts with two rows of trees located 2.2 m away from buildings show overall significant negative effects on ventilation, particularly for wind directions ϕ = 0°, 45°, and 90°. The impact of shrubs and trees on ventilation at the roundabout is less significant, with NEV varying by 4%–11%.
Xin Guo; Zhi Gao; Riccardo Buccolieri; Mingjie Zhang; Jialei Shen. Effect of greening on pollutant dispersion and ventilation at urban street intersections. Building and Environment 2021, 203, 108075 .
AMA StyleXin Guo, Zhi Gao, Riccardo Buccolieri, Mingjie Zhang, Jialei Shen. Effect of greening on pollutant dispersion and ventilation at urban street intersections. Building and Environment. 2021; 203 ():108075.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXin Guo; Zhi Gao; Riccardo Buccolieri; Mingjie Zhang; Jialei Shen. 2021. "Effect of greening on pollutant dispersion and ventilation at urban street intersections." Building and Environment 203, no. : 108075.
This study carries out a quantitative analysis of the impact on microclimate (air temperature and thermal comfort) of a row of 165 historical Pinus pinea L. located in a central neighbourhood of Rome (Italy). The analysis starts from a qualitative general analysis on the stressful conditions leading to tree decline in the urban environment especially during extreme climate change phenomena. Subsequently, the effects of planting new types of trees are assessed using ENVI-met, a 3D prognostic non-hydrostatic model for the simulation of surface-plant-air interactions. Results, obtained by simulating three different scenarios in which the trees are first removed and then modified, show that a gradual renewal of the existing trees, based on priority criteria of maturity or senescence, vegetative and phytosanitary conditions, efficiency of ecosystem services and safety for citizens, has positive effects on thermal comfort. By integrating current results and scientific literature, the final aim of this work is to provide stakeholders with a strategic and systemic planning methodology, which, based on the innovative integrated use of tree management and modelling tools, may (i) enhance the benefits of greening in a scenario of climate change and (ii) lead to intervention strategies based on complementarity between conservation of existing trees and tree renewal.
Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Leonardo Perronace; Jose Santiago. The Challenge in the Management of Historic Trees in Urban Environments during Climate Change: The Case of Corso Trieste (Rome, Italy). Atmosphere 2021, 12, 500 .
AMA StyleElisa Gatto, Riccardo Buccolieri, Leonardo Perronace, Jose Santiago. The Challenge in the Management of Historic Trees in Urban Environments during Climate Change: The Case of Corso Trieste (Rome, Italy). Atmosphere. 2021; 12 (4):500.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Leonardo Perronace; Jose Santiago. 2021. "The Challenge in the Management of Historic Trees in Urban Environments during Climate Change: The Case of Corso Trieste (Rome, Italy)." Atmosphere 12, no. 4: 500.
The aim of this study is to characterize the air quality in a Mediterranean port city. The impact of ship emissions on both gaseous and particulate pollutants has been investigated through an integrated methodology which includes atmospheric flow and dispersion numerical modelling as well as chemical composition and statistical analyses. Specifically, chemical compositional data (ionic fraction, carbonaceous compounds, and metals) of PM2.5 were acquired during an experimental field campaign carried out in the port city of Brindisi (Apulia Region, Southern Italy). The sampling site was located on the roof of a building (ASI) within the port area. Given the complexity of the site in which both domestic buildings and a large industrial area are present, analyses were done by selecting different wind sectors to test different techniques to discriminate between sources. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were applied to evaluate statistical differences in the composition of PM2.5 sampled within the area when the sampling site was downwind to the port or to the urban-industrial area. Only LDA allowed to discriminate the separation between urban-industrial and port macroareas. Those results were further confirmed in terms of PM2.5 concentrations directly associated to ship emissions using a coupled modelling approach. The mesoscale model BOLCHEM was used to investigate the contribution of ship emissions both on primary and secondary PM2.5 concentration in the area surrounding the port, as well as on PM10, NOX and O3 concentrations. Then, the model was coupled offline with the local dispersion model ADMS-Urban. The adopted approach was crucial to evaluate the spatial distribution of the impact of ship emissions. BOLCHEM results showed that in the cell of the port the average impact of ship emissions on NOX was 37.6%, and −11.7% on O3. The average impact on PM2.5 was 6.1%, distributed between primary (2.7%) and secondary fraction (3.4%). At local scale, the analysis of high-resolution modelling results obtained from ADMS-Urban highlighted that, at ASI position, the impact of ship emissions on PM2.5 was 6.8% when the sampling site was positioned downwind to the port area and reduced to lower than 3.0% at about 2 km from the sources.
Rita Cesari; Alessandra Genga; Riccardo Buccolieri; Silvana Di Sabatino; Maria Siciliano; Tiziana Siciliano; Adelaide Dinoi; Alberto Maurizi; Pierina Ielpo. Combining Chemical Composition Data and Numerical Modelling for the Assessment of Air Quality in a Mediterranean Port City. Applied Sciences 2021, 11, 2181 .
AMA StyleRita Cesari, Alessandra Genga, Riccardo Buccolieri, Silvana Di Sabatino, Maria Siciliano, Tiziana Siciliano, Adelaide Dinoi, Alberto Maurizi, Pierina Ielpo. Combining Chemical Composition Data and Numerical Modelling for the Assessment of Air Quality in a Mediterranean Port City. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11 (5):2181.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRita Cesari; Alessandra Genga; Riccardo Buccolieri; Silvana Di Sabatino; Maria Siciliano; Tiziana Siciliano; Adelaide Dinoi; Alberto Maurizi; Pierina Ielpo. 2021. "Combining Chemical Composition Data and Numerical Modelling for the Assessment of Air Quality in a Mediterranean Port City." Applied Sciences 11, no. 5: 2181.
This paper numerically investigates the ventilation of residential streets bounded by buildings of different forms. The aim is to provide suggestions for the design of environmentally sustainable urban streets in residential areas. Four representative building form variations along residential streets in Nanjing, located in the Yangtze River Delta region in China, i.e. ‘rotation’, ‘stagger’, ‘bend’ and ‘annex building’, are considered and several idealized models are finally built for the ventilation analysis. The focus is on the most common East-West (EW) and North-South (NS) oriented streets subjected to parallel, perpendicular and inclined wind directions. Results show that, for the investigated wind directions, NS oriented streets experience a better ventilation than EW oriented streets for all wind directions. For EW oriented streets, it is suggested to avoid buildings parallel to the street to prevent poor street ventilation conditions, while bended buildings are found to improve the ventilation. For NS oriented streets, keeping the buildings perpendicular to the street as much as possible is the most effective way to improve the street ventilation. Moreover, the presence of annex buildings, employed for commercial purposes, although reduces the airpath between buildings, for a given wind direction has little effect on street ventilation.
Yunlong Peng; Zhi Gao; Riccardo Buccolieri; Jialei Shen; Wowo Ding. Urban ventilation of typical residential streets and impact of building form variation. Sustainable Cities and Society 2021, 67, 102735 .
AMA StyleYunlong Peng, Zhi Gao, Riccardo Buccolieri, Jialei Shen, Wowo Ding. Urban ventilation of typical residential streets and impact of building form variation. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2021; 67 ():102735.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYunlong Peng; Zhi Gao; Riccardo Buccolieri; Jialei Shen; Wowo Ding. 2021. "Urban ventilation of typical residential streets and impact of building form variation." Sustainable Cities and Society 67, no. : 102735.
In the context of urban land-use growth and the consequent impacts on the environment, green spaces provide ecosystem services for human health. The ecosystem services concept synthesises human–environmental interactions through a series of combined components of biodiversity and abiotic elements, linking ecological processes and functions. The concept of green infrastructure (GI) in the urban context emphasises the quality and quantity of urban and peri-urban green spaces and natural areas. In dense urban contexts, the applications of GI are limited and not applied to the potential urban spaces such as roofs and gardens. Often, roofs are characterised by impermeable paved surfaces with negative effects on human well-being, whereas garden designs do not consider social needs and environmental interactions. The role of urban stressors or the urban context as a driving force or pressure of urban green space is not always well understood and employed in the planning of green spaces. This is partly due to a knowledge gap between different science disciplines that operate on different scales, from single processes of the plants (which focus on plant responses to environmental stresses affecting human well-being) to urban ecosystems (which focus on the biodiversity and urban space planning–human well-being relationship). This can create a paradox, as green spaces that are not adequately designed might not produce the expected effects. In this paper, an overview of benefits and limitations of applying the ecosystem services approach when designing green spaces is presented. The focus is on the main urban ecosystem services provided by green roofs and community gardens such as GI that can represent strategies to provide ecological and social multifunctionality to waterproofed surfaces connected to the buildings and low-exploited gardens being the main areas that affect dense urban settlements, and thus, increasing the ecosystem services in the urban environment, such as reducing the Urban Heat Island, as well as flooding events. Specifically, the paper highlights (i) feedback between ecological processes and functions that support ecosystem services, (ii) urban environmental stresses in relation to disservices that these can create for human well-being and (iii) key issues that should be considered in the planning and design of urban ecosystem services. Such a new vision of urban ecosystem services highlights the need to look at GI as an active part of the urban space design in the built environment.
Teodoro Semeraro; Aurelia Scarano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Angelo Santino; Eeva Aarrevaara. Planning of Urban Green Spaces: An Ecological Perspective on Human Benefits. Land 2021, 10, 105 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Aurelia Scarano, Riccardo Buccolieri, Angelo Santino, Eeva Aarrevaara. Planning of Urban Green Spaces: An Ecological Perspective on Human Benefits. Land. 2021; 10 (2):105.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Aurelia Scarano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Angelo Santino; Eeva Aarrevaara. 2021. "Planning of Urban Green Spaces: An Ecological Perspective on Human Benefits." Land 10, no. 2: 105.
This paper is devoted to the assessment of urban greening effects on two important ecosystem services, i.e., air quality and CO2 storage, including the corresponding economic impacts in a real urban area, i.e., a district located in the Mediterranean city of Lecce (southern Italy). Two tools were employed, i-Tree Canopy and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) microclimate model ENVI-met. i-Tree Canopy allowed fully determining the land-cover percentage on the basis of different ground cover classes and obtaining an estimate of annual values of CO2 storage, air pollutant removal, and economic benefits in the presence of urban greening. The estimate in i-Tree Canopy considered only the amount of greening; therefore, air pollutant removal estimates were only potential. As the vegetation was located in street canyons, its interaction with local meteorology and urban geometry strictly affected the dispersion of nitrogen oxides (NOx) (taken here as an example) as obtained from ENVI-met simulations. In ENVI-met, both deposition/absorption and aerodynamic effects were considered, and local increases in concentration were found in the district. The analysis of results obtained from different tools (one complex (CFD model) and the other simple (i-Tree model)) showed the error associated with the simple model in the computation of impacts if the interaction among the vegetation characteristics, the meteorological conditions, and the urban geometry was neglected; however, it also uncovers a novel approach for comprehensively characterizing a given area in terms of its vegetation cover, CO2 storage, and economic benefits, as well as local effects on air quality. This study is set in a broader context aimed at assessing the air quality in urban canopies of Mediterranean areas characterized by the presence of narrow street canyons where pollutants can accumulate due to ineffective air exchange with the above atmosphere.
Riccardo Buccolieri; Elisa Gatto; Michela Manisco; Fabio Ippolito; Jose Santiago; Zhi Gao. Characterization of Urban Greening in a District of Lecce (Southern Italy) for the Analysis of CO2 Storage and Air Pollutant Dispersion. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 967 .
AMA StyleRiccardo Buccolieri, Elisa Gatto, Michela Manisco, Fabio Ippolito, Jose Santiago, Zhi Gao. Characterization of Urban Greening in a District of Lecce (Southern Italy) for the Analysis of CO2 Storage and Air Pollutant Dispersion. Atmosphere. 2020; 11 (9):967.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRiccardo Buccolieri; Elisa Gatto; Michela Manisco; Fabio Ippolito; Jose Santiago; Zhi Gao. 2020. "Characterization of Urban Greening in a District of Lecce (Southern Italy) for the Analysis of CO2 Storage and Air Pollutant Dispersion." Atmosphere 11, no. 9: 967.
Riccardo Buccolieri; Jose Luis Santiago; Alberto Martilli. CFD modelling: The most useful tool for developing mesoscale urban canopy parameterizations. Building Simulation 2020, 14, 407 -419.
AMA StyleRiccardo Buccolieri, Jose Luis Santiago, Alberto Martilli. CFD modelling: The most useful tool for developing mesoscale urban canopy parameterizations. Building Simulation. 2020; 14 (3):407-419.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRiccardo Buccolieri; Jose Luis Santiago; Alberto Martilli. 2020. "CFD modelling: The most useful tool for developing mesoscale urban canopy parameterizations." Building Simulation 14, no. 3: 407-419.
This paper presents a conceptual framework that looks at photovoltaic systems in synergy with ecosystem services. The focus is to connect business success with social and ecological progress based on the operative concept of multifunctional land use. Such an approach attempts to harmonise the needs of the industrial processes of photovoltaic systems and the ecological and social needs of the landscape context. Different from the usual design of ground photovoltaic systems in farmlands or brownfields, a new framework is proposed, combining photovoltaic panels and vegetation. A case study is considered, applying the framework to existing photovoltaic systems in the Apulia region (southern Italy). The analysis shows how the framework has, among others, the major functions of increasing solar energy production, recycling wastewater, creating raw material for biofuel, as well as providing animal habitat and mitigating air temperature. The latter is preliminarily evaluated by means of modelling simulations performed with a computational fluid dynamics and microclimate model, ENVI-met. This approach opens up a new vision of the infrastructure design of photovoltaic systems which can produce new social and economic income.
Teodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Amilcare Barca; Alessandro Pomes; Cecilia Del Giudice; Elisa Gatto; Marcello Lenucci; Riccardo Buccolieri; Rohinton Emmanuel; Zhi Gao; Alessandra Scognamiglio. A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems. Land 2020, 9, 238 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Roberta Aretano, Amilcare Barca, Alessandro Pomes, Cecilia Del Giudice, Elisa Gatto, Marcello Lenucci, Riccardo Buccolieri, Rohinton Emmanuel, Zhi Gao, Alessandra Scognamiglio. A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems. Land. 2020; 9 (8):238.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Roberta Aretano; Amilcare Barca; Alessandro Pomes; Cecilia Del Giudice; Elisa Gatto; Marcello Lenucci; Riccardo Buccolieri; Rohinton Emmanuel; Zhi Gao; Alessandra Scognamiglio. 2020. "A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems." Land 9, no. 8: 238.
Forests are important in sequestering CO2 and therefore play a significant role in climate change. However, the CO2 cycle is conditioned by drought events that alter the rate of photosynthesis, which is the principal physiological action of plants in transforming CO2 into biological energy. This study applied recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to describe the evolution of photosynthesis-related indices to highlight disturbance alterations produced by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO, years 2005 and 2010) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO, year 2015) in the Amazon forest. The analysis was carried out using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images to build time series of the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), the normalized difference water index (NDWI), and the land surface temperature (LST) covering the period 2001–2018. The results did not show significant variations produced by AMO throughout the study area, while a disruption due to the global warming phase linked to the extreme ENSO event occurred, and the forest was able to recover. In addition, spatial differences in the response of the forest to the ENSO event were found. These findings show that the application of RQA to the time series of vegetation indices supports the evaluation of the forest ecosystem response to disruptive events. This approach provides information on the capacity of the forest to recover after a disruptive event and, therefore is useful to estimate the resilience of this particular ecosystem.
Teodoro Semeraro; Andrea Luvisi; Antonio O. Lillo; Roberta Aretano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Norbert Marwan. Recurrence Analysis of Vegetation Indices for Highlighting the Ecosystem Response to Drought Events: An Application to the Amazon Forest. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 907 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Andrea Luvisi, Antonio O. Lillo, Roberta Aretano, Riccardo Buccolieri, Norbert Marwan. Recurrence Analysis of Vegetation Indices for Highlighting the Ecosystem Response to Drought Events: An Application to the Amazon Forest. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (6):907.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Andrea Luvisi; Antonio O. Lillo; Roberta Aretano; Riccardo Buccolieri; Norbert Marwan. 2020. "Recurrence Analysis of Vegetation Indices for Highlighting the Ecosystem Response to Drought Events: An Application to the Amazon Forest." Remote Sensing 12, no. 6: 907.
This paper is devoted to the application of the modelling approach, as one of the methods for the evaluation of thermal comfort, to neighborhoods located in two cities characterized by a different climate, i.e., a Mediterranean city in southern Italy (Lecce) and a northern European city in southern Finland (Lahti). The impact of the presence of vegetation in both places is evaluated and compared, further considering alternative scenarios for thermal comfort improvement. The thermal comfort condition is expressed in terms of indices (mean radiant temperature (MRT) and predicted mean vote (PMV)). Results show that at pedestrian level the presence of vegetation lead to an improvement of thermal comfort in summer of about 2 points in both neighborhoods. This improvement is also evident observing the spatial distribution of MRT with a difference of 7 °C in the Lecce neighborhood and 3 °C in Lahti. In winter, thermal discomfort is observed in the presence of vegetation with a difference of 1.3 °C in the Lecce neighborhood and 1.5 °C in Lahti in terms of MRT. However, trees and green cover have the important potential to offset climate change impact and to make urban environments less thermally stressful. This study aims to guide urban planners towards a motivated and necessary transaction towards new green infrastructure whose effect should, however, be analyzed and investigated case by case.
Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Eeva Aarrevaara; Fabio Ippolito; Rohinton Emmanuel; Leonardo Perronace; Jose Luis Santiago. Impact of Urban Vegetation on Outdoor Thermal Comfort: Comparison between a Mediterranean City (Lecce, Italy) and a Northern European City (Lahti, Finland). Forests 2020, 11, 228 .
AMA StyleElisa Gatto, Riccardo Buccolieri, Eeva Aarrevaara, Fabio Ippolito, Rohinton Emmanuel, Leonardo Perronace, Jose Luis Santiago. Impact of Urban Vegetation on Outdoor Thermal Comfort: Comparison between a Mediterranean City (Lecce, Italy) and a Northern European City (Lahti, Finland). Forests. 2020; 11 (2):228.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Eeva Aarrevaara; Fabio Ippolito; Rohinton Emmanuel; Leonardo Perronace; Jose Luis Santiago. 2020. "Impact of Urban Vegetation on Outdoor Thermal Comfort: Comparison between a Mediterranean City (Lecce, Italy) and a Northern European City (Lahti, Finland)." Forests 11, no. 2: 228.
In recent years, several ventilation indices have been proposed and applied to assess the efficiency of “urban outdoor ventilation”, i.e. the ability of an urban area to dilute pollutants, heat and moisture by exchanging air between inside and above of the urban canopy. Here, focusing on the pollutant dispersion, the definition of 13 ventilation indices is given, which includes indoor-initially proposed and outdoor directly proposed. Then, 63 literature studies (published until 2018) applying the ventilation indices are selected, analysed and summarized in terms of the types of geometry investigated, the timeline and the frequency of employment of each index, the turbulence models employed. Based on the analysis of such studies, advantages and limitations of each index are provided, which may help the scientific community to choose the most appropriate one depending on the specific application and objective. Future perspectives are also given, suggesting the necessity to correlate ventilation indices with urban morphological parameters, to apply indices in real urban areas characterized by building height variability and complex morphology, as well as to provide threshold values useful for urban planning purposes.
Yunlong Peng; Riccardo Buccolieri; Zhi Gao; Wowo Ding. Indices employed for the assessment of “urban outdoor ventilation” - A review. Atmospheric Environment 2019, 223, 117211 .
AMA StyleYunlong Peng, Riccardo Buccolieri, Zhi Gao, Wowo Ding. Indices employed for the assessment of “urban outdoor ventilation” - A review. Atmospheric Environment. 2019; 223 ():117211.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYunlong Peng; Riccardo Buccolieri; Zhi Gao; Wowo Ding. 2019. "Indices employed for the assessment of “urban outdoor ventilation” - A review." Atmospheric Environment 223, no. : 117211.
This paper is devoted to the quantification of changes in ventilation of a real neighborhood located in Pamplona, Spain, due to the presence of street trees Pollutant dispersion in this urban zone was previously studied by means of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. In the present work, that research is extended to analyze the ventilation in the whole neighborhood and in a tree-free street. Several scenarios are investigated including new trees in the tree-free street, and different leaf area density (LAD) in the whole neighborhood. Changes between the scenarios are evaluated through changes in average concentration, wind speed, flow rates and total pollutant fluxes. Additionally, wind flow patterns and the vertical profiles of flow properties (e.g., wind velocity, turbulent kinetic energy) and concentration, horizontally-averaged over one particular street, are analyzed. The approach-flow direction is almost perpendicular to the street under study (prevailing wind direction is only deviated 4º from the perpendicular direction). For these conditions, as LAD increases, average concentration in the whole neighborhood increases due to the decrease of wind speed. On the other hand, the inclusion of trees in the street produces an increase of averaged pollutant concentration only within this street, in particular for the scenario with the highest LAD value. In fact, the new trees in the street analyzed with the highest LAD value notably change the ventilation producing an increase of total pollutant fluxes inward the street. Additionally, pollutant dispersion within the street is also influenced by the reduction of the wind velocity along the street axis and the decrease of turbulent kinetic energy within the vegetation canopy caused by the new trees. Therefore, the inclusion of new trees in a tree-free street should be done by considering ventilation changes and traffic emissions should be consequently controlled in order to keep pollutant concentration within healthy levels.
Jose-Luis Santiago; Riccardo Buccolieri; Esther Rivas; Beatriz Sanchez; Alberto Martilli; Elisa Gatto; Fernando Martín. On the Impact of Trees on Ventilation in a Real Street in Pamplona, Spain. Atmosphere 2019, 10, 697 .
AMA StyleJose-Luis Santiago, Riccardo Buccolieri, Esther Rivas, Beatriz Sanchez, Alberto Martilli, Elisa Gatto, Fernando Martín. On the Impact of Trees on Ventilation in a Real Street in Pamplona, Spain. Atmosphere. 2019; 10 (11):697.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJose-Luis Santiago; Riccardo Buccolieri; Esther Rivas; Beatriz Sanchez; Alberto Martilli; Elisa Gatto; Fernando Martín. 2019. "On the Impact of Trees on Ventilation in a Real Street in Pamplona, Spain." Atmosphere 10, no. 11: 697.
In the context of urbanization, research on urban microclimate and thermal comfort has become one of the themes of eco-city design. Sky view factor (SVF), one of the parameters of urban spatial form, combines multiple morphological information, such as plane opening, aspect ratio, and building density and has an important impact on the urban microclimate. However, there is still no clear research conclusion on the correlation between SVF and microclimate. In this paper, nine Local Climate Zone (LCZ) models are used and typical summer meteorological conditions of Nanjing are applied as an attempt to partially fill this gap. The calculated microclimate and thermal comfort indices include air temperature (AT), surface temperature (ST), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), mean radiant temperature (MRT), and predicted mean vote (PMV). Results show that the local effect of urban morphology on thermal comfort can be retrieved from the use of comprehensive parameters such as SVF (which takes into account the building height, layout, and density) whose distribution in the investigated models showed to be correlated with MRT, so did PMV under low wind speed conditions.
Tong Lyu; Riccardo Buccolieri; Zhi Gao. A Numerical Study on the Correlation between Sky View Factor and Summer Microclimate of Local Climate Zones. Atmosphere 2019, 10, 438 .
AMA StyleTong Lyu, Riccardo Buccolieri, Zhi Gao. A Numerical Study on the Correlation between Sky View Factor and Summer Microclimate of Local Climate Zones. Atmosphere. 2019; 10 (8):438.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTong Lyu; Riccardo Buccolieri; Zhi Gao. 2019. "A Numerical Study on the Correlation between Sky View Factor and Summer Microclimate of Local Climate Zones." Atmosphere 10, no. 8: 438.
This paper is devoted to the analysis of the impact of changes in olive urban forests affected by Xylella fastidiosa on ecosystem services. The focus is on microclimate and thermal comfort evaluated by two indices: the temperature of equivalent perception (TEP) and the predicted mean vote (PMV), which take into account both microclimate parameters and personal factors (heat resistance of clothing and human activity). The work has been carried out through (i) a qualitative analysis of the potential ecosystem services changes caused by temporary transition from olive groves to uncultivated soil, (ii) a study of the potential change of land use from monumental olive groves to other types of use, and (iii) a quantitative analysis on microclimate impact due to the loss of ecosystem services in two selected neighborhoods located in the Apulia region and chosen due to their proximity to the urban context. The analysis revealed that (i) direct effects on ecosystem services are principally linked with regulation functions and cultural services, (ii) a critical loss of cultural value of monumental olive groves occurred in the two neighborhoods, (iii) such a loss may lead to an increase of TEP and PMV, indicating a decrease of thermal comfort in the whole neighborhoods. Thus, it is necessary to plan the replanting policies of the use of the areas affected by X. fastidiosa not only in terms of agricultural planning but also in terms of landscape, urban planning, and human well-being.
Teodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Marzia Vergine; Zhi Gao; Luigi De Bellis; Andrea Luvisi. Changes in Olive Urban Forests Infected by Xylella fastidiosa: Impact on Microclimate and Social Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019, 16, 2642 .
AMA StyleTeodoro Semeraro, Elisa Gatto, Riccardo Buccolieri, Marzia Vergine, Zhi Gao, Luigi De Bellis, Andrea Luvisi. Changes in Olive Urban Forests Infected by Xylella fastidiosa: Impact on Microclimate and Social Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16 (15):2642.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeodoro Semeraro; Elisa Gatto; Riccardo Buccolieri; Marzia Vergine; Zhi Gao; Luigi De Bellis; Andrea Luvisi. 2019. "Changes in Olive Urban Forests Infected by Xylella fastidiosa: Impact on Microclimate and Social Health." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 15: 2642.
This paper discusses current state-of-the-art features of the “plant evaluation model”, a framework which, starting from the representation of vegetation and its effects in microclimate models, defines a number of indices which can be employed for the evaluation of outdoor microclimate in terms of thermal environment and comfort in the urban environment. The key point of taking into account the impact of vegetation on microclimate is to implement appropriate parameterizations of such impact in a microclimate model. The paper, based on a review of literature studies, thus illustrates the basic principle and technical path of the impact assessment model of vegetation on microclimate and introduces related software. The aim is to provide the scientific community with a summary of (i) the current definition of vegetation in models employed for the evaluation of the impact of vegetation on urban outdoor microclimate, (ii) main models and evaluation indices and (iii) main input, output, vegetation-related processes implemented, strengths and weaknesses of those models, with suggested measures for output improvement. This review is not exhaustive but may help the user to select the proper model, which takes into account the effects of vegetation on outdoor urban microclimate, depending on the specific objective.
Yujin Yang; Elisa Gatto; Zhi Gao; Riccardo Buccolieri; Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo; Hongning Lan. The “plant evaluation model” for the assessment of the impact of vegetation on outdoor microclimate in the urban environment. Building and Environment 2019, 159, 106151 .
AMA StyleYujin Yang, Elisa Gatto, Zhi Gao, Riccardo Buccolieri, Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo, Hongning Lan. The “plant evaluation model” for the assessment of the impact of vegetation on outdoor microclimate in the urban environment. Building and Environment. 2019; 159 ():106151.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYujin Yang; Elisa Gatto; Zhi Gao; Riccardo Buccolieri; Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo; Hongning Lan. 2019. "The “plant evaluation model” for the assessment of the impact of vegetation on outdoor microclimate in the urban environment." Building and Environment 159, no. : 106151.
With the objective of reducing population exposure, vegetation barriers composed by hedges and/or trees are usually located near roads to protect pedestrians from traffic-related pollutants. The main objective of this study is to quantify the effectiveness of this type of barriers. Black Carbon (BC) is used an indicator of the effectiveness of vegetation barrier and its concentration reduction behind the barrier is studied. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, previously validated against BC experimental data across a vegetation barrier located in an avenue of Pamplona (Spain), is applied to simulate different barrier configurations. Additionally, the contribution of each vegetation effect (aerodynamic and deposition) on this reduction, as well as its sensitivity to different deposition velocities, are investigated. Results show barriers with hedge and trees are effective to locally reduce BC concentrations and suggest that the presence of trees is more crucial in reducing concentration rather than the hedge size or density. At 15 m from road in the presence of a row of trees and a 2 m-height and 2 m-width hedge the average concentration reduction percentage ranges between 45% and 66% (depending on deposition velocity) with respect to the case without vegetation barrier.
Jose-Luis Santiago; Riccardo Buccolieri; Esther Rivas; Hector Calvete-Sogo; Beatriz Sanchez; Alberto Martilli; Rocío Alonso; David Elustondo; Jesús M. Santamaría; Fernando Martin. CFD modelling of vegetation barrier effects on the reduction of traffic-related pollutant concentration in an avenue of Pamplona, Spain. Sustainable Cities and Society 2019, 48, 101559 .
AMA StyleJose-Luis Santiago, Riccardo Buccolieri, Esther Rivas, Hector Calvete-Sogo, Beatriz Sanchez, Alberto Martilli, Rocío Alonso, David Elustondo, Jesús M. Santamaría, Fernando Martin. CFD modelling of vegetation barrier effects on the reduction of traffic-related pollutant concentration in an avenue of Pamplona, Spain. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2019; 48 ():101559.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJose-Luis Santiago; Riccardo Buccolieri; Esther Rivas; Hector Calvete-Sogo; Beatriz Sanchez; Alberto Martilli; Rocío Alonso; David Elustondo; Jesús M. Santamaría; Fernando Martin. 2019. "CFD modelling of vegetation barrier effects on the reduction of traffic-related pollutant concentration in an avenue of Pamplona, Spain." Sustainable Cities and Society 48, no. : 101559.
A novel set of wind tunnel measurements of the drag force and its spatial distribution along aligned arrays of cubes of height H and planar area index λp (air gap between cubes) equal to 0.028 (5H) to 0.69 (0.2H) is presented and analysed. Two different types of measurements are compared: one type where the drag force is obtained using the standard load cell method, another type where the drag force is estimated by measuring the pressure difference between windward and the leeward façades. Results show that the drag force is nearly uniformly distributed for lower λp (0.028 and 0.0625), it decreases up to 50% at the second row for λp = 0.11, and it sharply decreases for larger λp (from 0.25 to 0.69) where the force mostly acts on the first row. It follows that for the lowest λp the drag force typically formulated as a drag area corresponds to the total frontal area of the array, whereas for large λp the drag area corresponds to the area of the first row. By assessing the driving pressure for ventilation from the drag force, the analysis is extended to estimate the cross ventilation as an example of application of this type of measurements.
Riccardo Buccolieri; Mats Sandberg; Hans Wigö; Silvana Di Sabatino. The drag force distribution within regular arrays of cubes and its relation to cross ventilation – Theoretical and experimental analyses. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 2019, 189, 91 -103.
AMA StyleRiccardo Buccolieri, Mats Sandberg, Hans Wigö, Silvana Di Sabatino. The drag force distribution within regular arrays of cubes and its relation to cross ventilation – Theoretical and experimental analyses. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics. 2019; 189 ():91-103.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRiccardo Buccolieri; Mats Sandberg; Hans Wigö; Silvana Di Sabatino. 2019. "The drag force distribution within regular arrays of cubes and its relation to cross ventilation – Theoretical and experimental analyses." Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 189, no. : 91-103.
The Atmosphere Special Issue “Recent Advances in Urban Ventilation Assessment and FlowModelling” collects twenty-one original papers and one review paper published in 2017
Riccardo Buccolieri; Jian Hang. Recent Advances in Urban Ventilation Assessment and Flow Modelling. Atmosphere 2019, 10, 144 .
AMA StyleRiccardo Buccolieri, Jian Hang. Recent Advances in Urban Ventilation Assessment and Flow Modelling. Atmosphere. 2019; 10 (3):144.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRiccardo Buccolieri; Jian Hang. 2019. "Recent Advances in Urban Ventilation Assessment and Flow Modelling." Atmosphere 10, no. 3: 144.