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The Psychology of Energy Efficiency
Published in Brenda Groskinsky, Climate Actions, 2022
In 2018, BTG helped lead the development of Kansas City's Urban Forest Master Plan. One of the plan's rallying cries is “a shade tree for every building.” For optimal reduction in heat-related energy use, large, deciduous shade trees should be placed about 10–20′ from the house, to shade east-facing walls and windows from 7 to 11 a.m. and west-facing from 3 to 7 p.m. during June, July and August (Kuhns and Miller, 2011). In general, evergreen trees placed on the northeast and north sides of a house can serve as windbreaks, reducing the utility burden of heating a house in winter. (Wind patterns differ, depending on local topography and other factors.) Such properly placed trees can begin to reduce utility bill burdens within just a few years of planting. In homes where people don't have an air conditioner, or can't afford to run one, a shade tree can literally make the difference between life and death.
Renewable Energy Sources and Water Management
Published in Barney L. Capehart, William J. Kennedy, Wayne C. Turner, Guide to Energy Management, 2020
Barney L. Capehart, William J. Kennedy, Wayne C. Turner
Use trees and shrubs as windbreaks and wind diverters. For example, evergreen trees or shrubs at the northwest corner of the building can break the cold winter winds and divert the summer breezes for better utilization. (See Figure 15-7)
Diversification and trait evolution in New Zealand woody lineages across changing biomes
Published in Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2022
Esther E. Dale, Matthew J. Larcombe, Benjamin C. M. Potter, William G. Lee
The trait innovations accompanying out-of-forest shifts include changes in plant height, frost tolerance, drought tolerance and fire adaptations (e.g. Tkach et al. 2008; Simon et al. 2009; Zanne et al. 2014). These trait changes reflect differences in abiotic conditions and disturbance regimes between forest and more open biomes. Evergreen forests typically provide shaded, mesic conditions, structural complexity, and environments with few or no frosts (Duker et al. 2015; Lusk and Laughlin 2017; Charles-Dominique et al. 2018). In contrast, open or non-forest environments have one or a combination of drought, frosts, fire and low shade (Bond and Parr 2010; Heenan and McGlone 2013; Charles-Dominique et al. 2018).
Distribution and eco-stoichiometry of carbon and nitrogen of the plant-litter-soil continuum in evergreen broad-leaved forest
Published in Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 2020
Hui Wang, Bing Wang, Xiang Niu, Qingfeng Song, Haonan Bai, Yueqiao Li, Jiadong Luo, Hezhong Chen, Linya Nie, Zhiwei Luo
C and N concentration and eco-stoichiometry characterize plant growth strategies. Carbon and nitrogen are indispensable elements for plant growth and development: carbon is the most important element in plant dry matter, while nitrogen is a limiting element in plant growth (Wenhua, Zhihong, and Wende 2006; Ying, Shuying, and Ping 2014). The average C: N ratio of leaves and fine roots of deciduous species was smaller than that evergreen trees. The evergreen tree species are generally distributed in the lower layer, and the deciduous tree species are relatively distributed in the upper layer (Jones, Leafe, and Stiles 1978). The evergreen tree species have a slow growth strategy. This survival strategy is the result of long-term adaptation of the organism to the environment, and the plant regulates the concentration of the elements in the body to achieve a better living state. The concentration of C and N in the leaves and the leaf lifespan determine the concentration of C and N in the litter and the input amount, which affects soil carbon concentration and nutrient supply. The leaf lifespan of deciduous tree species was shorter than that of evergreen tree species, which means that the vegetative cycle rate of deciduous tree species is higher than that of evergreen tree species. Compared with evergreen tree species, there are more nutrients in the environment for deciduous tree species to absorb and utilize. The functional traits of leaves and roots of deciduous tree species tend to grow rapidly, such as short leaf life, large leaf area, small surface, and large roots. The functional traits of leaves and roots of evergreen trees tend to grow slowly, and absorb and store more nutrients. Then, the strategies for reabsorption of nitrogen by the leaves are also different, the difference of the litter input amount and frequency of results in the differences of the soil carbon and nitrogen concentration. It also explains why the N concentration of leaves and roots in deciduous tree species is greater than that of evergreen tree species. Because their rate of litter nutrient cycling is fast, the specific root length of deciduous trees is greater than that of evergreen trees. In order to adapt to the slower rate of nutrient cycling, the evergreen tree species showed a larger root surface area to facilitate nutrient absorption. Because the nutrient cycling rate interacts between different components of the plant-litter-soil continuum, the coefficient of variation of the N concentration of soil and litter is high.