I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and

quality for the award of the degree of Master of Engineering (Civil Environmental Management)

Signature

: ....................................................

Name of Supervisor : ASSOC. PROF. DR. JOHAN SOHAILI Date : ....................................................

PLANTS VOLUME AS A FACTOR AFFECTING OUTDOOR AMBIENT AIR AND THERMAL CONDITION

SITI RAHMAH OMAR

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Engineering (Civil Environmental Management)

Faculty of Civil Engineering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

APRIL 2010

ii

I declare that this thesis entitled Plants Volume as a Factor Affecting Outdoor Ambient Air and Thermal Condition is the result of my own research except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.

Signature Name Date

: .................................................... : SITI RAHMAH OMAR : ....................................................

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To my beloved and respected father, Omar Salleh My dearly loved mother, Siti Hajar Abas My brothers; Mohd Shahir Shamsir Mohd Shariman Shahril Mohamad Salehuddin My sapphire, Md Khairi Mustapa

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most compassionate, I am grateful that in preparing this thesis, I was in contact with many people, researchers, academicians, and practitioners. They have contributed towards my understanding and thoughts. In particular, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Johan Sohaili, for encouragement, guidance, and critics. Without the continued support and interest, this thesis would not have been the same as presented here. I am also indebted to the environmental laboratories technicians for their support during my survey.

My fellow postgraduate friends should also be recognized for their support. My sincere appreciation also extends to all my colleagues and others who have provided assistance at various occasions. Their views and tips are useful indeed. Last but not least, I am also grateful to all my family members for their patient and love.

ABSTRACT

This study evaluates the effectiveness of plants for outdoor ambient air and outdoor thermal improvement based on volume size. The growing conceptualization of green space is partly as a function that contributing towards a better environmental quality and maintenance of ecological system in urban area in giving evidence to sustainable urban living. However, the general requirement for plantings in designated urban green spaces is 4% from the whole development without reckoning the height or volume of the plants which should be considered in providing outdoor thermal comfort and clean air. Focusing on ambient air quality, this study quantify amount of carbon dioxide, oxygen, temperature and relative humidity influence by plants volume based on field data. Result shows that there is influence of plants volume in green space to the pattern of air chemical composition in an outdoor space. The study also concluded that the design and planning of green space should give more consideration on both the plants volume and area size especially in a tropical country like Malaysia, in order to enhance air quality and thermal comfort.

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ABSTRAK

Kajian ini dilakukan bertujuan mengkaji keberkesanan tumbuhan berdasarkan kepadatan pokok terhadap keadaan udara dan suhu di persekitaraan luar. Konsep ruang hijau yang semakin menjadi perhatian ramai adalah salah satu faktor yang menyumbang kepada keadaan persekitaran yang lebih baik dan juga terhadap kelestarian ekologi di kawasan bandar yang kini semakin pesat membangun. Walau bagaimanapun, telah dinyatakan bahawa keperluan asas untuk tumbuhan dan tanaman dalam ruang hijau yang disediakan di kawasan bandar adalah 4% dari keseluruhan pembangunan itu. Ini tidak mengambil kira ketinggian atau kepadatan tanaman dimana ia didapati perlu diambil kira untuk memberi kesan terhadap kualiti udara dan keselesaan suhu di persekitaraan luar. Oleh yang demikian, kajian ini mengenal pasti jumlah perubahan kandungan karbon dioksida, oksigen, suhu dan kelembapan udara yang dipengaruhi oleh tumbuhan berdasarkan kepadatan pokok dari kajian lapangan. Daripada kajian yang dibuat, dapat di rumuskan bahawa jumlah kepadatan pokok mempengaruhi komposisi udara di kawasan persekitaran luar. Ini menunjukkan bahawa perancangan dan rekabentuk ruang hijau di kawasan bandar seharusnya mengambil kira kedua-dua faktor iaitu kepadatan tumbuhan dan juga keluasan kawasan hijau yg di cadangkan terutama sekali di kawasan beriklim tropika seperti Malaysia. Ini penting bagi membantu meningkatkan kualiti udara dan suhu yang menyumbang kepada keadaan persekitaran yang lebih baik dan juga terhadap kelestarian kawasan bandar.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

DECLARATION DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT ABSTRAK TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ii iii iv v vi vii x xi xiv

INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Introduction Problem Statement Aim and Objectives Scope and Limitation Significant of the Study

1 1 2 3 3 4

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LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 2.2 Introduction Natural Atmosphere and Ambient Air 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 Carbon Dioxide Oxygen Temperature and Relative Humidity Wind

5 5 5 6 8 9 10 11 15 16 18 21 23 24 27 28 29

Atmospheric Imbalanced and Warming Urban Context and Environmental Changes Urban Green Space 2.5.1 Types of Urban Green Space

2.6

Plants in Urban Area 2.6.1 2.6.2 2.6.3 2.6.4 2.6.5 Plants Characteristic Photosynthesis Plant and Carbon Plants and Atmospheric Pollutant Benefits of Plants in Urban Area

METHODOLOGY 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Introduction Data Collection and Sampling Method Parameters Equipments Method Used to Calculate Plants Volume Data Analysis

33 33 33 36 36 37 38

RESULT AND ANALYSIS 4.1 4.2 Introduction Carbon Dioxide

39 39 39

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4.2.1 4.2.2 4.3

Day and Night Comparison Result from Controlled Environment

43 45 45 47 49 49 51 54 57 59

Oxygen 4.3.1 4.3.2 Day and Night Comparison Result from Controlled Environment

4.4 4.5 4.6

Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Carbon Dioxide and Temperature Temperature and Relative Humidity 4.6.1 4.6.2 Day and Night Comparison Result from Controlled Environment

CONCLUSION 5.1 5.2 Conclusion Recommendation

62 62 63

LIST OF REFERENCES APPENDIX

65 71

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO.

TITLE

PAGE

2.1 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3

Gaseous mixture surrounding the Earth Details of courtyard conditions Details of air-tight glass box conditions Results shows carbon dioxide differences in various conditions Results shows temperature differences in various conditions

6 34 35 45 59

Results shows relative humidity differences in various conditions 60

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO.

TITLE

PAGE

2.1

Atmospheric CO2 is essential to most plants and animal life on earth 7 11 Representation of the greenhouse effect The incoming solar energy that causes the warming or earth surface in percentage 13 14

2.2 2.3

2.4 2.5

The absorptivity of various gases as a function of wavelength New York Central Park. Shows green space is everywhere even in the biggest city

16

2.6

A densely planted area is highly preferred and provides greater visual interest than a sparsely planted one 18 19 19 20 20 21

2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12

Formation of urban green and greening considerations Green roof in Fukuoka, Japan Terrace garden in Prague Castle Garden, Prague Vertical garden in Huntsville Alabama Courtyard is surrounded by walls on all four sides Temperature decrease as plants help cool urban climates through shading and evapo-transpiration

22

2.13

Evapo-transpiration process influence the outdoor temperature and relative humidity 23

2.14

Photosynthesis is the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy, which is stored in sugar 25

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2.15

Midday depression, curve 1, one peaked diurnal course; curve 2, two-peaked diurnal course; curve 3, one peaked diurnal course but with severe midday depression 26

2.16

Transfer processes for gaseous and particulate pollutants from the free atmosphere to terrestrial surfaces 29

2.17

Incorporating plants around buildings can also offer visual interest and relief to plain walls and roofs and separate them from the obtrusive hard edges of surrounding buildings. 31

3.1

Plan of the selected green space. The green space selected for this study is a courtyard which surrounded by school buildings, and focused only on the ground level 34

3.2

The courtyard conditions were differentiated with four types of plants volume 35

3.3

The controlled environment conditions were differentiated with three types of plants volume 36

3.4

The equipment used. From left TSI Carbon Detector, MSA Altair 4 Multi-Gas Detector, Multi-detector LUTRON 4 in 1, and Gray Wolf Direct Sense PPC Kit 37 38

3.5 4.1

Methodology for calculating the green volume Comparison of carbon dioxide concentration according to different courtyard conditions

40 42 42 42

4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

Solar intensity in courtyard area changes throughout the day Different solar intensity during morning and noon Different solar intensity during evening and night

Comparison of carbon dioxide concentration during day and night 44 Comparison of oxygen concentration according to different courtyard conditions 46 48

4.7 4.8

Comparison of oxygen concentration during day and night Comparison between carbon dioxide and oxygen concentration in courtyard with grass and plants (C4)

49

4.9

Comparison between carbon dioxide and oxygen concentration in courtyard with grass only (C3) 50

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4.10

Comparison between carbon dioxide concentration and temperature deviation in various conditions (C1) no plants or grass, (C2) plants only, (C3) grass only, (C4) plants and grass 52

4.11

Solar energy reflected by earth surface and absorbed by vegetation in various conditions (C1) no plants or grass, (C2) plants only, (C3) grass only, (C4) plants and grass 53

4.12

Comparison between temperature and relative humidity according to different courtyard conditions 55

4.13

Comparison between temperature and relative humidity during day and night 58

4.14

Illustration of different box conditions with different solar energy absorbed by vegetation in (B1) no plants or grass, (B2) plant with volume, (C3) grass only 60

4.15

Illustration of different box conditions with different transpiration or evaporative cooling of the plants in (B1) no plants or grass, (B2) plant with volume, (C3) grass only 61

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

C CO2 H2O O2 ppm RH VOCs

Degree Celsius Carbon Dioxide Water Oxygen Parts per million Relative Humidity Volatile organic compounds

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Introduction

The world has experienced unprecedented urban growth in the last and current centuries. Wong and Chen (2009) mentioned that in 1800, only 3 per cent of the worlds population lived in urban areas and this began to increase significantly after 1900. This rapid urbanization has resulted in environmental changes. According to Kiran et al. (2004), natural vegetations are usually the first victim of urbanization. From the ecological point of view, vegetation is important in terms of maintaining an ecological balance and without them, not only many of the earths inhabitants die, but also the earth itself would suffer.

Changes in urban conditions are also mentioned to have often caused deterioration in environmental quality and may result in damage to the health of citydwellers (Wilhelm, 2008). One of the alarming concerns is the degradation of

ambient air quality. The urban building and economic activity result in pollution and warming of the air. Thus, in term of preventive or protective environmental actions, Wilhelm (2008) mentioned that one of the methods is to increase size of urban parks and green space as well as using plants on both vertical and horizontal surfaces since plants have proved their resistance to urban environmental stress.

Consequently, this shows that urban area and cities needs green spaces such as park and garden. Herbert (2002) mentioned that if cities were compared to organisms,

parks and garden situated within it acts as the green lungs. This is because creation of green spaces, especially with trees and vegetation could promote in human and urban ecology well being. Therefore, proposed green spaces were considered as essential breathing spaces within the built environment (Peter, 2006), because of the plants activities which enhanced the balanced conditions of the atmosphere.

Currently, green spaces in Malaysian urban area are usually proposed and reserved 10% from the whole development area (Jabatan Landskap Negara, 2008). This artificial formation of green spaces is usually planned and landscaped in the process of urbanization. Wong and Chen (2009) stressed that, the artificial formation of green space is the windows and links from which the urban dwellers can access Mother Nature in the harsh built environment. Passive interaction with nature and plants in urban green space has also been associated with many beneficial responses, including reductions in stress, improvements in health, and restoration from mental fatigue. Thus shows plants play a major role in providing better urban environment as well as human and urban ecology well being.

1.2

Problem Statement

The benefits of greening the urban area have been taken for granted when it is emphasized on the basis of design and planning alone. Wong and Chen (2009) stated that there are two omitted yet significant concerns which may need scientific input; how many plants should be introduced and how much the environment will respond. The proposed plants in urban green space are also usually small and have less volume compared to the existing mature plants which usually being torn down during the site clearance for new development. Even though new plantings will be planted again, the significant size different did affect the urban outdoor surroundings and urban ecology well being. Furthermore, the formations of green area which are proposed and designed did not truly consider the amount of plantings and its dense value in improving the outdoor environment. Thus shows that, the outdoor

plantings and urban green space need to be consider quantitatively and supported the environmental balanced and physical needs in regards with ambient air and thermal condition.

1.3

Aim and Objectives

The aim of the study is to determine the effect of plants in volume size on outdoor ambient air and thermal conditions. The objectives of this study are as the followings:

(i)

To determine the changes of carbon dioxide, oxygen, temperature and relative humidity according to various plants volume allocation.

(ii)

To identify capability of plants in volume size upon improving outdoor ambient air and thermal improvement.

1.4

Scope and Limitation

Vegetation always accompanies the growth of cities in different formations. It is rare to have natural formation of aboriginal plants in an urban environment due to the constraint of space. This study will select the artificial formation of green area which also known as green space. Parks, garden, courtyard, green roofs, green walls or terraces are all artificial formations which are planned and landscaped in the process of urbanization. Thus, this study will focus only on courtyard which is one of the artificial formations of green space in urban area. The plants selection for this study will be ornamental plants or low shrubs. This is because large plants or trees gives shade and this could not justify the plants volume capability in improving outdoor ambient air and thermal improvement.

However, the study will not deal with the species and arrangement of planting as well as the design and usage style. This is because, in term of design and aesthetic, what each person needs is different and Wayne (1995) mentioned that the ideal environment should be able to respond to human being preference for air quantity, quality, temperature and humidity.

1.5

Significance of the Study

Currently, there is a need in quantitative input on how many plants should be introduced and how much the environment will respond (Wong and Chen, 2009). In Malaysia, Jabatan Landskap Negara (2008) stated that the green space in urban area should consist minimum 40% of soft landscape. However this 40% is basically total covered area of greenery without reckoning the size, height or volume of the plants.

The proposed plantings and vegetation in urban area should be considered quantitatively as to provide and support the urban environment balanced and physical needs. In this context it can be argued that the role of green space as an environmental aid in urban area necessitates an evaluation of plants quantity required in the green space in regards to air quality and thermal conditions. The evaluation will provide understanding on plants in volume size effect to the outdoor ambient and will hopefully benefits towards a better outdoor urban green space.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1

Introduction

This chapter discussed on natural ambient air, urban context and environmental changes as well as urban green space and plants within it. It is focused on the outlined as well as related topics and was based on the needs to understand the attributes and insight into the possible outcome throughout the study. This is also for further understanding in the study topics, provides information to support the studys result along with its applied approach towards a better outdoor urban environment.

2.2

Natural Atmosphere and Ambient Air

The atmosphere is essential to life (Speight and Lee, 2000). The natural atmosphere is seldom thought of as harmful or damaging, nevertheless, within the atmosphere exist great treats to all life. In its present state, the consequences of changes could be more severe, therefore it is important to understand the natural atmosphere and consider our effects upon it.

Atmospheric variable include gaseous mixture, temperature and water vapour. It is clear that the atmosphere provides the air we breathe. Humans normally can only survive for about three to four minutes without air. For this reason, it is the single

most important resource we have. Williams (2004) stated that all the other environmental concerns attach into the preservation of our atmosphere.

Natural ambient air is a gaseous mixture surrounding the Earth atmosphere which consists of different gasses such as shown in table 2.1.

Table 2.1: Gaseous mixture surrounding the Earth Gases Nitrogen Oxygen Carbon Dioxide Inert Gases Percentage 78% 21% 0.03% 0.97%

In addition, air has no colour, taste or smell and also contains dust particles and microorganisms. Shown on Table 2.1, Oxygen has 21% of the gaseous mixture surrounding the Earth. Based on several references, it indicates that Oxygen makes up 20% to 21% of the Earths atmosphere (Treshow and Anderson, 1989; Williams, 2004; Ong et al. 2004; Godish, 2004). However Vesilind and Morgan (2004) mentioned that such air composition is not found in nature and is of interest only as reference.

2.2.1

Carbon Dioxide

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is essential to most present day plant and animal life on earth because it provides the carbon input to photosynthesis (Figure 2.1). However, the significant release of CO2 into the atmosphere caused air degradation and imbalance resulting from activities such as the combustion of fossil fuels and changes in land use especially deforestation that constitute the primary detectable human influence on global climate (Runeckles, 2003).

Some of the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis and some will absorb by the ocean enough to restore equilibrium or atmospheric balance (Treshow and Anderson, 1989). Now that CO2 is building up in the atmosphere, further actions should be taken. Adding to our concern is that the forests are being destroyed and this is a highly concerned matter since the trees and plants act as sinks or buffer for our carbon dioxide.

Figure 2.1: Atmospheric CO2 is essential to most plants and animal life on earth (Williams, 2004)

Furthermore, carbon dioxide imbalanced is expected to rise and increase the mean global temperature by 1.1C to 4.5C. Jonathan (2003), Runeckles (2003), and Al Gore (2006) discussed that there is interrelationship between temperature and

atmospheric CO2 concentration within earths complex land-ocean-atmosphere system. It indicates that when there is more CO2 in the atmosphere, the temperature increases. Thus shows that CO2 is thought to be dominating the heating up of the world due to the increased greenhouse effect.

2.2.2

Oxygen

As stated by Speight and Lee (2000), the atmosphere is the source of oxygen (O2) for respiration. Atmospheric oxygen is also utilized by aerobic organisms in the degradation of organic material. As one would expect the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere is slowly declining if plants and fossil fuel carbon is being burned to give CO2. Although the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is deteriorating, Jonathan (2003) stated that there is plenty left for us to breathe. The total amount that has been lost in the last 200 years is much less than one-thousandth of the oxygen in the atmosphere.

Fishman (1990) stated that ozone (O3) forms readily in the stratosphere as incoming ultraviolet radiation breaks molecular oxygen (two atoms) into atomic oxygen (a single atom). In that process, oxygen absorbs much of the ultraviolet radiation and prevents it from reaching the Earths surface where we live. He also mentioned four simplified chemical formula as the explained below. O2 + sunlight O + O (2.1)

When an electrically excited free oxygen atom encounters an oxygen molecule, they may bond to form ozone. O + O2 O3 (2.2)

Destruction of ozone in the stratosphere takes place as quickly as formation of ozone, because the chemical is so reactive. Sunlight can readily split ozone into an oxygen molecule and an individual oxygen atom.

O3 + sunlight

O2 + O

(2.3)

When an electronically excited oxygen atom encounters an ozone molecule, they may combine to form two molecules of oxygen. O + O3 O2 + O2 (2.4)

The ozone formation-destruction process in the stratosphere occurs rapidly and constantly, maintaining an ozone layer. The evolution of free atmospheric oxygen at elevated concentrations set the stage for the evolution of oxidative metabolism, the series of energy-transferring chemical reactions that sustain most life forms. Oxygen, as consequence, is vital to almost all living things.

2.2.3

Temperature and Relative Humidity

Relative humidity is the relationship between the air temperature and the amount of water vapour it contains. On the other hand, humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. When it has been raining and the air is saturated, there is 99 to 100 percent humidity. Relative humidity is expressed in percent and this can be written as an equation (2.5). Godish (2004) explained that it is the percent of air (H2O vapour a volume) holds at a given temperature. Since air can hold more H2O vapour at higher temperatures, relative humidity values decrease as temperature increases.

water vapour present in the air X 100% RH = water vapour required to saturate air at that temperature (2.5)

The tropical climate in Malaysia is hot and humid. Hussein and Rahman (2009) explained that data obtained by the Malaysian Meteorological Service for ten-

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year period records the outdoor temperatures are relatively uniform. The average temperatures between 23.7C to 31.3C throughout a day with the highest maximum recorded as 36.9C and the average relative humidity throughout a day is between 67% to 95%. The reason for the high temperature and high relative humidity is it will reduce the rate of evaporation of moisture from human body, especially in the locations where the lack of air movement is experienced (Wong and Chen, 2009).

According to Laurie (1979), when it is desirable to increase humidity, trees can be a valuable mechanism for moderating urban microclimate. This is because as water is released through plants stomata, it evaporates into atmosphere. As evaporation takes place atmospheric moisture content or humidity is increased. Thus this is important because Laurie (1979) also stated that the control of urban microclimates and temperature is related to the control of humidity as well as solar radiation and wind.

2.2.4

Wind

Wind is important as a natural cooling strategy in the tropics. Wind as mentioned by Williams (2004) is a product of atmospheric air pressure that is caused by unequal heating of the Earths surface. Pressure differences cause air to move. Like fluids, air flows from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. Wind as mentioned by Godish (2004) is the term commonly used to describe air movement in the horizontal dimension. As mentioned by Yabuki (2004), wind is considered as environmental factors for plants growth and it effect the gasses exchange between air and plants.

For outdoor environment, the effect of wind is more complicated as it is often inter-related with solar exposure. A review of outdoor thermal comfort studies (Cheng and Ng, 2008) has showed that at air temperature of about 28C, the comfort wind speed for a pedestrian in shade could vary from 0 to 3 m/s. Therefore a high wind

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speed is needed to compensate for the high temperature in order to achieve thermal comfort.

Wind not only moves the pollutants horizontally, but it causes the pollutants to disperse (Speight and Lee, 2000), reducing the concentration of the pollutant with distance away from the source. According to Vesilind and Morgan (2004), the amount of dispersion is directly related to the stability of the air, or how much vertical air movement is taking place. Thus shows that in wind is considered as one of the important factor in the atmosphere.

2.3

Atmospheric Imbalanced and Warming

According to Davis and Masten (2004), the atmosphere is somewhat like engine. It is continually expanding and compressing gases, exchanging heat, and generally creating chaos. The change in the element of the atmosphere is the tendency for the temperature close to the earths surface to rise. This is a phenomenon referred as the greenhouse effect (Speight and Lee, 2000). This term is used to describe the warming or rise in the temperature of the earth when the energy from the sun is trapped and cannot escape from the enclosed space as shown in figure 2.2.

Absorbed

Atmosphere

Atmospheric Processes

Radiation from the Earth

Reflected Surface Subsurface

Absorbed

Figure 2.2: Representation of the greenhouse effect (Speight and Lee, 2000)

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Furthermore, the atmospheric imbalanced usually caused by pollution. According to Godish (2004) the concept of pollution includes a sense of degradation, a loss of quality, a departure from purity, and adverse environmental effects. He also mentioned that air becomes polluted when it is changed by the introduction of gases or particulate substances or energy forms so that the locally, regionally, or globally altered atmosphere poses harm to humans, biological systems, materials, or the atmosphere itself.

Levels of pollution experienced by cities and buildings can be greatly influenced by location, morphology and the local climate (Susan et al., 2004). Moreover, indoor air pollution is stated linked with the outdoor air pollution or ambient air pollution that occurs in both urban and rural areas.

One of the important factors of atmospheric warming is the Sun which is the ultimate energy source for all atmospheric processes (Bhatti et al., 2006). Solar radiation is also the main energy input factor that determines plants growth and production. Heat, ultimately derived from solar radiation, can be transferred to the atmosphere in four different ways (Treshow and Anderson, 1989). First is by conduction, secondly is by convection where air is warmer near the ground, causing it to expend and rise. A third way by which heat transferred to the atmosphere is by means of evaporation. Finally is the thermal radiation.

Visible light is partly thermal radiation. The atmosphere reflects scatters and absorbs some of the solar radiation that passes through it. Thus shows that the atmosphere already exhibits a greenhouse effect by absorbing some of the outgoing thermal radiation and warning the earth. Furthermore, warming of the earth also due to soil temperatures under sealed surfaces are clearly higher than the average and in the urban area, heat island may develop.

Figure 2.3 shows that the 51% of solar energy warming the Earth surface, 30% carried up by conduction & convection, 6% transmitted directly out to space from surface radiation, and the final 15% as surface radiation which is absorbed by the atmosphere & clouds before being radiated out to space. 29.4% of the energy radiated

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from the Earth's surface is absorbed by the atmosphere.70.6% of the energy heats the atmosphere by other means. Of the 29.4%, a tiny portion will be in the absorption band of CO2.

Figure 2.3: The incoming solar energy that causes the warming or earth surface in percentage (Kusterer, 2007).

According to Kusterer (2007) part of the solar energy that comes to Earth is reflected back out to space in the same, short wavelengths in which it came to Earth. He also explained that the percentage of solar energy that is reflected back to space is called the albedo. Different surfaces have different albedos. Over the whole surface of the Earth, about 30 percent of incoming solar energy is reflected back to space. Ocean surfaces (26% albedo) and rain forests (15% albedo) reflect only a small portion of the Sun's energy. Deserts however, have high albedos (40%); they reflect a large portion of the Sun's energy. Thus shows that forest absorbs the solar energy which helps reduce heat and temperature. Even if the greenhouse gases traps the heat from earth, by increasing vegetation area the energy from sun will be used accordingly.

14

Unfortunately, the problem faced by the world today is the additional warming that is being produced by several natural anthropogenic gases that being injected into the global atmosphere by human activities and urbanization. Treshow and Anderson (1989), stresses that we are not only facing a greenhouse effect, but super-greenhouse effect due to both natural and additional warming.

It is also important to understand that various gases that made up Earth atmosphere absorbs heat energy at specific wavelengths. Figure 2.4 shows the absorptivity of various gases as a function of wavelength (Vesilind and Morgan, 2004). Carbon dioxide absorbs almost none of the sunlight coming to Earth because its absorptive effect is most pronounced at wavelengths greater than about 1.5m, missing most of the sunlight spectrum. Looking at the right side of the Figure 2.4 however, it is clear that carbon dioxide can be effective energy absorber at the frequencies normal to heat radiation from earth.

Figure 2.4: The absorptivity of various gases as a function of wavelength (Vesilind and Morgan, 2004).

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2.4

Urban Context and Environmental Changes

The world has experience unprecedented urban growth. In the last and current centuries has lead to rapid urbanization and for the past two centuries resulted in significant environmental changes (Wong and Chen, 2009). Changes in urban conditions are also mentioned to have caused deterioration in environmental quality and cause damage to the health of urban-dwellers (Wilhelm, 2008). One of the alarming concerns is the degradation of air quality. The urban building and economic activity also result in pollution and warming of the air. Furthermore, the change of urban climate, especially micro-climate, is definitely associated with the rapid urbanization. Higher temperature in urban areas means hazards of thermal discomfort, air pollution and even water pollution. Furthermore, natural elements including the fresh air, light and green scenery which help promoting health restoration (Burnett, 1997) might be jeopardize due to rapid changes in urban conditions.

Urban modification of the atmospheric environment can occur by the replacement of the natural surface of soil, grass, and plants by the multiplicity of urban surfaces of brick, concrete, glass, and metal at different ground. According to Berry (1990), these artificial materials change the nature of the reflecting and radiating surfaces, the heat exchange near the surface, and the aerodynamic roughness of the surface. Since hard surfaces predominate in urban areas, during periods of intense incoming radiation, the temperature are likely to be higher in urban area than in the suburbs or countryside. Laurie (1979) stated that particularly in the central areas of large urban development, this can be result in temperatures being raised by 4C to 6C, occasionally by as much as 10C.

There are several factors that determine the thermal build up in urban area. Firstly is the large conductivity and heat-storage capacity of most building fabrics compared with natural soils. This promotes the twin processes of heat storage during the day and subsequent release of the stored heat at night. Furthermore, the input of energy from artificial sources and the contribution made by solar radiation, lead to the high proportion of pollutants in the atmosphere above towns compared to the open countryside.

16

Moreover, the pollution level in the urban atmosphere still frequently remains above the limits normally considered to be safe for human (Laurie, 1979). Thus, in term of preventive or protective environmental actions, Wilhelm (2008) mentioned that one of the methods is to increase size of urban parks and green space as well as using plants on both vertical and horizontal surfaces. Wong and Chen (2009) also suggested that vegetation should be introduced extensively yet carefully in urban area.

2.5

Urban Green Space

Urban green spaces are recognized as important ecosystem in urban and suburban area (Peter, 2006). Green space of course is not always perfectly green, and it is everywhere even in the biggest city (Figure 2.5). The purpose of proposing urban green space is not only because plants are the aborigines which should be preserved, but also because their broader benefits cannot be produced by any other life-form. Peter (2006) also claimed that the growing conceptualization of green space in all its complexity is partly a function of lobbying for better environmental quality and maintenance of ecological systems in urban area.

Figure 2.5: New York Central Park. Shows green space is everywhere even in the biggest city

17

Consequently, this shows that urban area and cities needs green spaces such as park and garden. According to Laurie (1979), urban green space could be considered as a place that functions as an enrichment of the environment, for intimacy of character and for modification of the climate. Herbert (2002) mentioned that if cities were compared to organisms; parks and garden situated within it acts as the green lungs. This is because creation of green spaces, especially with trees could promote in human and urban ecology well being. Therefore, proposed green spaces were considered as essential breathing spaces within the built environment (Peter, 2006).

The green spaces in urban area are planned and landscaped. This artificial formation is simply the compromise to rapid urbanization. As a precious resource, it is the windows and links, from which the urban dwellers can access Mother Nature in the harsh built environment (Wong and Chen, 2009). Ulrich (1981) found that scenes of natural environments have more positive influence on human emotional states.

Moreover, the outdoor environment or green space as mentioned by Said et al., (2004) is known to have restorative power. It is because man recognises the physical and symbolic benefits of plants, fresh air, sunlight and scenic views for more than one thousand years ago. Currently, green spaces in Malaysian urban area are usually proposed and reserved 10% from the whole development area, and from this 10%, it should consist minimum 40% of soft landscape or plantings (Jabatan Landskap Negara, 2008). Even if it lack of detailed indicator of plants quantity and quality that should be chosen and proposed, this guideline helps in promoting more greenery in the buildup area.

People and urban dweller enjoy contact with nature; however it is not enough simply to plant a few trees and set down a bench or two. For instance, according to Carpman and Grant (1993) a densely planted area such as shown in Figure 2.6 is highly preferred and provides greater visual interest than a sparsely planted one. They also pointed out that there are findings shows that scenes with greater number of trees were consistently rated higher than those with fewer trees. Thus shows that plants play a major role in the urban green space.

18

Figure 2.6: A densely planted area is highly preferred and provides greater visual interest than a sparsely planted one

2.5.1

Types of Urban Green Space

Owing to its importance, vegetation always accompanies the growth of cities in different formations. The formation of plants, according to Wong and Chen (2009) can be roughly divided into two major categories. Figure 2.7 shows that the two major categories are natural and artificial. It is rare to have natural formation of aboriginal plants in an urban environment due to the constraint of space. Parks, garden, courtyard, green roofs, green walls or terraces are all artificial formations which are planned and landscaped in the process of urbanization. Figure 2.7 also shows that artificial formation can be further divided into two groups. One is landscaping on the ground which fills in the public areas in urban environment for example parks, courtyard and garden. The other group under artificial formations is landscaping on buildings. This includes rooftop gardens or green roof (Figure 2.8), terrace gardens (Figure 2.9) and vertical landscaping (Figure 2.10).

19

Urban Green

Natural formation

Artificial formation

Natural reserve

Landscape on the ground

Landscape on buildings

City Park

Rooftop garden

Courtyard

Balcony garden

Other green areas

Vertical landscaping

Figure 2.7: Formation of urban green and greening considerations (Wong and Chen, 2009)

Figure 2.8: Green roof in Fukuoka, Japan

20

Figure 2.9: Terrace garden in Prague Castle Garden, Prague

Figure 2.10: Vertical garden in Huntsville Alabama

21

Courtyard as shown in figure 2.11 which is the focus of this study is a type of green space surrounded by walls on all four sides and may be located on grade or on a roof. However, it is important to note that the artificial formation should never be viewed as a satisfactory alternative to losing nature which should be preserved at all costs.

Figure 2.11: Courtyard is surrounded by walls on all four sides

2.6

Plants in Urban Area

Plants in an urban are mentioned to be able to provide benefits in the form of environmental, social, financial and aesthetic value (Wong and Chen, 2009). Furthermore, it provide many valuable ecosystem services: they reduce energy consumption, trap and filter storm water, help clean the air by intercepting air pollutants, as well as help in the fight against global climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide (Kelaine et al., 2008).

Jonathan (2003) mentioned that plants have likely had a big influence on CO2 level in atmosphere. They were the main source of oxygen, as it is one of the products

22

of photosynthesis and acted as a trap for carbon. It is also mentioned that the bigger land plants, have likely led to a further increase in CO2 uptake. Plants also absorb gaseous pollutants for example nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide through leaf surfaces, intercept dust, ash, pollen, and smoke, release oxygen through photosynthesis, reduces emissions of pollutants from power plants including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as give shades which lowers air temperatures, reducing hydrocarbon emissions and CO2 levels (Wilhelim, 2008).

Figure 2.12: Temperature decrease as plants help cool urban climates through shading and evapo-transpiration (Wilhelim, 2008)

Plants can offer cooling benefits in a city through two mechanisms, direct shading and evapo-transpiration. Figure 2.12 shows that temperature is lower in the area with dense plantings. According to Wong and Chen (2009), the shading effect is quite straightforward and it very much depends on the density of plants. People normally have no quantitative sense of plants evaporative ability. The temperature reduction can benefit individual building as well as the urban environment.

Plants absorb water through their roots and emit it through their leaves, and this movement of water is called transpiration. A large tree can transpire 40,000 gallons of water per year; an acre of corn can transpire 3,000 to 4,000 gallons a day (Wong et al., 2006). Evaporation, the conversion of water from a liquid to a gas, also occurs from the soil around vegetation and from plants as they intercept rainfall on leaves and other surfaces. Together, these processes are referred to as evapotranspiration.

23

Evapo-transpiration cools the air by using heat from the air to evaporate water. Evapo-transpiration, alone or in combination with shading, can help reduce air temperatures. Figure 2.13 shows plants take water from the ground through their roots and emit it through their leaves, a process known as transpiration. Water can also evaporate from tree surfaces, such as the stalk, or surrounding soil.

Figure 2.13: Evapo-transpiration process influence the outdoor temperature and relative humidity (Williams, 2004)

2.6.1

Plants Characteristic

There are more than 200,000 different kinds of vascular plants and not any species can be considered truly typical (Treshow and Anderson, 1989). The most familiar include the coniferous and deciduous trees, shrubs, vines and grasses. The generalized plant structure consists of root and shoots which made up of the stem and leaves. Leaf is the principal photosynthetic organ of the plant and mostly has a pigment called chlorophyll. Plants also have stomata. A stoma is a pore, found in the leaf and stem epidermis that is used for gas exchange.

24

It is clear that plants need sunlight, water and CO2 to do photosynthesis. However, the changes of atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature will have important consequences to plants. According to Jonathan (2003), plants usually prevent themselves from losing too much water in the drying air, but they also need to take in CO2 in order to photosynthesize. A plant could easily coated themselves with waxy layer to prevent water lost however this would almost totally prevent CO2 from getting into its leaves, and it would be unable to grow. Therefore plants have to balance of between gathering CO2 in order to photosynthesize and avoiding death by dehydration. Jonathan (2003) explained that when plants have plenty of water, the stomata let CO2 in. If more water added around the roots of the plants, they will take up more CO2 and photosynthesize. If instead more CO2 added to the air around the plants, very often they do the opposite.

During the growth process of plants, carbon is being sequestered. Therefore, this shows that growing more trees and plants could mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration. Unfortunately this solution is not that simple. Plants and trees normally grow slowly. Although the potential to sequester carbon is fairly large, the actual carbon sequestration rate on annual basis is rather small (Bhatti et al., 2006). However it is mentioned that plants and trees having thick canopies and dense foliage provide the most benefits (Laurie, 1979).

2.6.2

Photosynthesis

The only natural mechanism known to utilize atmospheric CO2 is photosynthesis by green plants. Photosynthesis is the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy, which is stored in sugar. The chemical reaction that takes place in simplified form is as below. It shows that water, carbon dioxide and solar energy are converted into glucose and oxygen.

6H2O + 6CO2 + sunlight

C6H12O6 + 6O2

(2.6)

25

The photosynthesis process creates carbohydrates that are distributed to the various plant components, resulting in the growth of plants attributes. Without photosynthesis there would be no animal life, no oxygen in our atmosphere, no fossil fuel reserves and according to Treshow and Anderson (1989) it would perhaps did not have any free water due to excessive heat trapped because of the greenhouse effect.

Figure 2.14: Photosynthesis is the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy, which is stored in sugar (Williams, 2004)

Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplasts, which are located in the cells of a plant leaf (Figure 2.14). It is performed in two separate reactions: light reactions and dark reactions. The light reactions occur during the day. When light strikes a pigment called chlorophyll, electronic energy is excited and manipulated in a chemical process called photophosphorylation, where energy is produced in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This ATP produced by the light reactions fuel the synthesis of glucose (sugars), which is accomplished during the dark reactions. Through a chemical process called the Calvin cycle, carbon dioxide is harvested and manipulated to produce glucose molecules (Mohammad, 1997).

26

According to Xu and Shen (1997), midday depression of photosynthesis occurs in many plants. It is a common phenomenon. Xu and Shen (1997) mentioned that under natural conditions there are two typical patterns of photosynthetic diurnal course (Figure 2.15). One is one-peaked which net photosynthetic rate increase gradually with the increase in sunlight intensity in the morning, reaches its maximum around noon, and then decreases gradually with the decrease in sunlight intensity in the afternoon. Another in two-peaked where there are two peak values of net photosynthetic rate, one in late morning and another in late afternoon with a depression around noon.

Figure 2.15: Midday depression, curve 1, one peaked diurnal course; curve 2, two-peaked diurnal course; curve 3, one peaked diurnal course but with severe midday depression (Xu and Shen, 1997)

Ecological factors responsible for midday depression are sunlight, air temperature, air humidity, soil water status and carbon dioxide concentration in the air. In general, the two-peaked diurnal course of photosynthesis occurs on clear day with intense sunlight, while the one-peaked diurnal course occurs on cloudy days with

27

weak sunlight (Xu and Shen, 1997). Naturally, it is assumed that the midday depression is caused by intense light.

To some extent midday depression is related to high air temperature because of enhanced CO2 efflux from respiration and/or photorespiration. Midday depression of photosynthesis is also often accompanied by a decreased CO2 concentration around noon (Xu and Shen, 1997). Decreased CO2 concentration is an important ecological factor leading to midday depression.

2.6.3

Plants and Carbon Dioxide

Plants excel at storing carbon. As a consequence, the photosynthesis process in which ambient CO2 is used to create sugars and carbohydrates, plants sequester carbon (Bhatti et al., 2006). Because of these unique characteristic, plants are the main living organisms on Earth that have the capacity to mitigate the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

Over 99% of the carbon in living organisms on earth is held within plants (Jonathan, 2003). In the 1980s, ecologist began to consider on how fast forests take up carbon. This relied on taking comprehensive measurements of the CO2 concentration around the trees. The idea is that if a forest is photosynthesizing and using up CO2, this would show up as a depletion of CO2 in the air adjacent to the forest. Even though the forest ecosystem is also respiring during the day, in daytime there will normally be more photosynthetic uptake of carbon than carbon release from respiration. Followed by night-time assessment to measure how much the CO2 concentration around the forest has been raised at night relative to the background level in the atmosphere (Jonathan, 2003).

However, it is mentioned that this approach is compelling but also very ambitious. Various studies show strange result and there is nagging question of whether these studies might contain errors. It is pointed out that a lot of important

28

processes occur in forest such as tree falls, landslides and droughts which might affect the data. Even though it remains an open question as to how much it can really teach us, it is nevertheless scientifically important.

2.6.4

Plants and Atmospheric Pollutant

Atmospheric pollutants are transported to vegetation from their source by wind and turbulence (Fowler, 2003). Wind spread pollutants over landscape and transport pollutions from sources and source area. The transport of gases from the atmosphere to the terrestrial surfaces is by turbulent transfer, which is generated by frictional drag by terrestrial surfaces on the wind. Thus the nature of the surface strongly influences rates of transfer.

Fowler (2003) mentioned that the aerodynamically rough surfaces of forests and woodland generate much greater frictional drag on air flow and as a consequence, rates of transport of pollutants from the free atmosphere to the surface are much greater over forests than over short vegetation for example grassland. Figure 2.16 shows that the rates of deposition of pollutant gases and particle depend on both the turbulent transfer to the surface and processes at the surface which determine the uptake of gases or capture of particles.

According to William (1990), plants in general have the function as sinks for gaseous pollutant. The gases transferred from the atmosphere to vegetation by the combined forces of diffusion and flowing air movement. Once in contact with plants gases may be bound or dissolved on exterior surfaces or be taken up by plants via stomata. Thus shows that plants have the capability not only to enhance the urban atmosphere but also act as a functional companion that acts on pollutant towards a better urban living.

29

Grass / Vegetation

Figure 2.16: Transfer processes for gaseous and particulate pollutants from the free atmosphere to terrestrial surfaces (Fowler, 2003)

2.6.5

Benefits of Plants in Urban Area

It is mentioned by Wong and Chen (2009) that plants in urban area can provide quantitative benefits, in the form of financial returns, as well as qualitative environmental, social and aesthetic benefits.

a)

Environmental Benefits

Plants offer cooling benefits in an urban area through two mechanisms, direct shading and evapo-transpiration which has been explained earlier. As a result, not only shaded hard surfaces in the urban area but also the ambience can experiences relatively low temperatures. The temperature reduction can benefit not only individual buildings but also the urban environment. Furthermore, plants have been widely believed to be effective scavengers of both gaseous and particulate pollutants from the atmosphere in the urban environment (Miller, 1997). They can improve the air quality by filtering out airborne particles in their leaves and branches as well as by absorbing gaseous pollutants. The low surface temperature caused by plants may also reduce the risk of forming low atmospheric ozone which is the primary component of smog.

30

However, vegetation does not always respond positively to pollution stress. Air pollution has a negative impact on plant metabolism. A reduction of photosynthetic capacity or even the appearance of chlorosis or necrosis can be observed in plants which are planted in a heavily polluted environment (Coleman et al., 1995). Planted surface has the ability to retain storm water and it is a practical technique for controlling runoff in a built environment. Environmentally, this translate into benefits such as reduction of the surface contaminants in the rainwater, reduced occurrence of soil erosion and improved well-being for aquatic animals and plants.

b)

Economic Benefits

Economic benefits are very much related with the environmental benefits brought by plants in an urban area. The ability of surface covered with vegetation to retain storm water and lower peak runoff can help in reducing the extent of storm water drainage infrastructure. This has been applied by employing smaller storm sewers, which in turn saves construction and maintenance costs of the towns drainage systems. Plants introduced around buildings can improve constructions integrity by lessening the weather effect (Wong and Chen, 2009).

Energy saving are another significant economic contribution brought by plants in the urban area. Not only tree shading but also strategically placed plants around buildings can achieve energy savings. In Singapore, a hospital has managed to cut its water and electricity bills by SGD800, 000 in one year after adopting green roofs and other environmental considerations (Nathan, 1999).

c)

Aesthetic Benefits

Landscaping has often used to improve the aesthetic of the urban environment. The support for the preservation of plants has been attributed to the attraction that many urban dwellers feel for the natural landscape. Vegetation can provide visual contrast and relief from a highly built-up city environment. Plants also give a significant psychological sense of accessing Mother Nature in concrete jungles where

31

buildings and pavements dominate the urban area. Furthermore, vegetation provides elements of natural scale and visual beauty. In addition, incorporating plants around buildings can also offer visual interest and relief to plain walls and roofs and separate them from the obtrusive hard edges of surrounding buildings (Figure 2.17). Unsightly building systems can also be hidden by vegetation on the rooftops and facades.

Figure 2.17: Incorporating plants around buildings can also offer visual interest and relief to plain walls and roofs and separate them from the obtrusive hard edges of surrounding buildings

d)

Social Benefits

Plants can fulfil various social functions in a built environment. Green space in urban area provide places for playing, sport and recreation, meeting, establishing social contacts, isolation and escape from urban life, as well as aesthetic enjoyment. There is no doubt that trees and plants in parks help in creating a sense of community

32

in the neighbourhood (Wong and Chen, 2009). Urban area can be made livelier by providing ample amounts of accessible outdoor recreation or amenity space.

It has also been proved that visual and physical contact with plants can result in direct health benefits. Ulrich and Parsons (1992) studied the psychological effects of plants on humans and revealed that plants can generate restorative effects leading to decreased stress, improve patient recovery rates and higher resistance to illness. Besides their psychological impacts, plants have other physical impacts which benefits human. The air cleansing quality of plants has direct respiratory benefits for people who suffer from asthma and other breathing ailments, and directly lowers smog and other forms of air pollution. The potential of greenery to lower high temperature can reduce heat-aggravated illness, which directly and indirectly reduce life expectancy of human beings and death among the city population.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1

Introduction

This chapter explained thoroughly the procedure of works as to achieve the aim and objectives of this study. Detailed processes and method are illustrated which focus on types of data collection, types of equipment used during data collection, and methods used to calculate plants volume.

3.2

Data Collection and Sampling Method

Data collection is taken during clear sunny day and was collected in two categories. In the first category, data collection is done in a green space. The green space selected for this study is a courtyard and focused only on the ground level (Figure 3.1). Courtyard as mentioned earlier is a type of green space surrounded by walls on all four sides.

The selected courtyard is located enclosed in the centre of school buildings with 12298cm2 area size. It is done during school holiday as it will be unoccupied which help in controlling the gases uptake and discharge. The courtyard conditions were differentiated with four types of plants volume (Figure 3.2). Details of the

34

courtyards are presented in table 3.1. Data collection for courtyards condition is done in 24 hours duration with data reading every 30 minutes.

Table 3.1: Details of courtyard conditions Courtyard type C1 C2 C3 C4 Plants Details No plants or grass Plants only Grass only Plants and Grass Total plants volume 0 34306cm3 12298cm3 631460cm3 Area covered with vegetation 0 1573cm2 12298cm2 12298cm2

Classroom Classroom

Laboratories

Courtyard (Green Space)

Shelter

Corridor Parking Area

Figure 3.1: Plan of the selected green space. The green space selected for this study is a courtyard which surrounded by school buildings, and focused only on the ground level

35

Figure 3.2: The courtyard conditions were differentiated with four types of plants volume

In the second category, data collection is done in a sealed glass box to control other factor such as wind which might affect the data. The box is prepared using transparent glass to enable sunlight penetration. This controlled environment conditions were differentiated with three types of plants volume (Figure 3.3). Details of the air-tight glass box are given in table 3.2. Data collection for controlled environment conditions is done in 2 hours duration with data reading every 30 minutes.

Table 3.2: Details of air-tight glass box conditions Box type B1 B2 B3 Plants Details No plants or grass Plants only Grass only Total plants volume 0 23960cm3 2400cm3 Area covered with vegetation 0 2400cm2 2400cm2

36

Figure 3.3: The controlled environment conditions were differentiated with three types of plants volume

3.3

Parameters

Parameters that involved in this study are Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Oxygen (O2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Temperature, and Relative Humidity. These were chosen since it is related with the balanced condition of gases in atmosphere and influences the outdoor thermal comfort.

3.4

Equipments

Four types of equipment used during data collection. The equipment used to acquire the temperature data and relative humidity is Multi-detector LUTRON 4 in 1 LM-8000, a product of Taiwan. The concentration of carbon monoxide is detected by Gray Wolf Direct Sense PPC Kit made from Germany. Carbon dioxide is detected using TSI 7515 IAQ-CALC Carbon Dioxide Detector, and oxygen data is collected by MSA Altair 4 Multi-Gas Detector (Figure 3.4). All the equipment is located in the center spot during data collection for both the courtyard area and the air-tight glass box.

37

Figure 3.4: The equipment used. From left TSI Carbon Detector, MSA Altair 4 Multi-Gas Detector, Multi-detector LUTRON 4 in 1, and Gray Wolf Direct Sense PPC Kit

3.5

Methods Used to Calculate Plants Volume

There are several methods that can be used to calculate plants volume for example Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) (David et al., 2005), and Street Tree Resource Analysis Tool for Urban Forest Managers (STRATUM) (Wong et al., 2006). In this study, the plants volume was calculated using the consideration of estimated plants crown shape seen as a ratio to the cylinder (Gunther, 2008) (Figure 3.5). This method is similar to Bio-volume Calculation (Archana and Ankur, 2008), and was chosen because it is more accurate and specific since the plants used in this study is ornamental plants which usually used in the urban green space.

38

Figure 3.5: Methodology for calculating the green volume (Gunter, 2008)

3.6

Data Analysis

Subsequent to all the method done during desk study, field study and observations, the data collected was analysed by plotting graph according to the parameters involved and statistical analysis is carried to clarify and illustrate the result gain from the method used.

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

4.1

Introduction

This chapter discussed on the results and analysis achieved from the data collections. The discussion related with the literature review, method used and headed for findings in conforming to the objectives of the study. The results of this study

focused on carbon dioxide, oxygen, temperature and relative humidity as well as final discussion based on result from all conditions. Carbon monoxide is negligible in this study as the data is not perceived at each and every condition in both categories.

4.2

Carbon Dioxide

Urbanization caused high accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and leads to the imbalance between atmospheric oxygen (O2) and CO2 (Mohammad, 1997). The only natural mechanism known to utilize CO2 is photosynthesis. Figure 4.1 shows the trend of CO2 changes for different courtyard conditions that are conditions C1 no plants or grass, C2 plants only, C3 grass only, and C4 plants and grass. C1 has higher CO2 level with average 502ppm almost 43% higher than normal CO2 concentration in ambient air which is 350ppm. This is because according to Wisconsin Department of Health Services (2008), CO2 concentration in normal outdoor air level is 250ppm until 350ppm.

Peak photosynthesis

Figure 4.1: Comparison of carbon dioxide concentration according to different courtyard conditions

40

41

This is followed by C2 result with average concentration of CO2 of 431ppm throughout the data collection. Meanwhile it was recorded below 350ppm during C3 and C4 with average 331ppm and 324ppm respectively. Thus this shows that CO2 reduction in C4 condition is higher than the other conditions. This is because the C4 condition has highest area coverage with vegetation and plant volume. However, one of the interesting finding is even though the plant volume in C2 condition is higher than C3, the average CO2 concentration of C3 condition is much lower with differences of 23% compare with C2. This might be due to different area covered with vegetation which is higher in C3.

Even though C3 has less plants volume than C4, from figure 4.1 shows that the CO2 uptake for C3 trend is quite similar to C4. This illustrate that the area size covered with vegetation is crucial in providing significant changes for CO2 trend. However, there is still different in CO2 concentration (p < 0.05) as enclose in Appendix B Table B1. Nevertheless C4 has the highest CO2 reduction with differences of 3% compare to C3 condition since it has a higher plants volume with all ground area covered with grass. This also can verify that the volume of plants is important in assuring CO2 reduction. In addition, it agreed with the findings by Fowler (2003) which indicate rates of transport of gases from the free atmosphere to the surface are much greater over dense and high vegetation than over short vegetation such as grassland.

The carbon-reduction phase of photosynthesis requires light. Consequently, Figure 4.1 shows CO2 reduction happened particularly around 10:30am until 14:00pm when most of the area received full solar intensity. This is because the site for data collection is enclosed in between buildings which limit the solar path and intensity (Figure 4.2). Thus affecting the light intensity and it form shadow cast throughout the day (Figure 4.3 and Figure 4.4). However, C1 shows CO2 increment at that time since no photosynthesis process occurs.

42

Figure 4.2: Solar intensity in courtyard area changes throughout the day

Time 10:30

Time 13:30

Figure 4.3: Different solar intensity during morning and noon

Time 16:00

Time 04:00

Figure 4.4: Different solar intensity during evening and night

43

4.2.1

Day and Night Comparison

The carbon-reduction phase of photosynthesis requires light and will either barely active or totally inactive in the dark (Vivekanandan and Sarabalai, 1997). This is shown on figure 4.5 where the CO2 concentration uptake has decreased. Figure 4.5 shows that the CO2 in C4 and C3 condition started to increase as the sun falls. During night the photosynthesis process is barely active and plants usage of CO2 has decreased. Plants utilize CO2 at night as there is no sunlight energy which allows photosynthesis process to happen.

During day time from 8:00am till 19:00pm, the average CO2 concentration is for C3 and C4 condition is 315ppm and 306ppm respectively. While during night time starting from 19:00pm, the average CO2 concentration for C3 and C4 condition is 343ppm and 338ppm respectively. The difference is only 1% for the average CO2 concentration for C3 and C4 condition. C1 CO2 concentration reduces from the highest peak that is 585ppm to 430ppm during 5:30am. This is 26% differences and might be due to the absent of sunlight energy.

Significant differences of C3 and C4 condition throughout the day for CO2 concentration (p < 0.05) as enclose in Appendix B table B2. Thus shows that during the night time the present of plants either with high or low volume is not obvious to the CO2 changes. However this might be due to the plants conditions used in this study which is low plantings.

Figure 4.5: Comparison of carbon dioxide concentration during day and night
44

45

4.2.2

Result from Controlled Environment

Table 4.1 shows B2 reduce 28% of the CO2 while B3 reduce 9%. Although both B2 and B3 have same area covered with vegetation, the result shows that B2 with 10% more plants volume than B3 is the preferred condition. With the differences of 19% in CO2 uptake, it can be concluded that by increasing the plants volume more than 10%, the CO2 uptake will increase more than 15%. Thus these result concluded that plants volume should be considered in implementing urban green space as to give effect in CO2 reduction.

Table 4.1: Results shows carbon dioxide differences in various conditions Time/Condition 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 Average Differences with B1 in percentage
(*Unit: ppm)

No Plants (B1) 378 377 375 378 376 377 -

Plants (B2) 367 323 238 224 202 271 -28%

Grass (B3) 354 339 350 342 337 344 -9%

4.3

Oxygen

Oxygen (O2) makes up 20% to 21% of the Earths atmosphere (Williams, 2004; Ong et al. 2004; Godish, 2004). However Vesilind and Morgan (2004) mentioned that such air composition is not found in nature and is of interest only as reference. Therefore, on this study it is found that the oxygen reading is typically 20.8% and was set as the guideline in comparing any changes throughout the study.

Peak photosynthesis

Figure 4.6: Comparison of oxygen concentration according to different courtyard conditions

46

47

Plants were mentioned to release oxygen through photosynthesis (Wilhelim, 2008), and this process requires light which evidently shows on figure 4.6 which illustrate the C4 and C3 data fluctuate. From Figure 4.6 shows C2 oxygen reading is mostly constant except during noon. This most probably due to the small area covered with vegetation which give less impact to the O2 trend. The difference of C4 and C3 average is 0.29%. However, the C4 has 30% higher O2 production compare with C3 throughout the day. Furthermore, the O2evolution activities for C3 end earlier than C. This might be due to the less volume of plants in C3 thus less CO2 uptake needed for photosynthesis process. Substantial different of all conditions (p < 0.05) has been pointed out as attached in Appendix B Table B3.

4.3.1

Day and Night Comparison

As mentioned before, photosynthetic O2-evolution activity requires light. Figure 4.7 signify the importance of light as energy in photosynthesis process because from 17:00pm till 6:30pm no changes of O2 data. Compare with day time, the O2 data during night time is not significant and as well as no sign of O2 reduction. This is because although the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is deteriorating, Jonathan (2003) stated that there is plenty left for us to breathe and the total amount that has been lost in the last 200 years is much less than one-thousandth of the oxygen in the atmosphere.

Figure 4.7: Comparison of oxygen concentration during day and night

48

49

4.3.2

Result from Controlled Environment

Oxygen result from controlled environment is negligible as the data has no changes in every condition. This might due to loss of photosynthetic O2-evolution activity since the plants acceptance temperature range is 15 C till 45 C (Dubey, 1997).

4.4

Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen

Data collection for carbon dioxide and oxygen are highlighted on C3 and C4 condition due to high differences. Substantial differences have been pointed out in Appendix B Table B1 and Table B3. Figure 4.8 and figure 4.9 clearly show that when the Oxygen (O2) data fluctuate, it is consistent with Carbon Dioxide (CO2) readings that decreased during peak sunlight intensity. At time the O2 readings are back to 20.8%, the CO2 started to increase with time. It shows that CO2 level increase since vegetation no longer utilizes CO2 for photosynthesis at night.

Figure 4.8: Comparison between carbon dioxide and oxygen concentration in courtyard with grass and plants (C4)

50

The peak photosynthesis occurs from 10:30am to 14:00 pm where the area received full sunlight. When comparing C4 and C3 during the peak photosynthesis, the O2 data changes is more significant during C4 condition. The CO2 concentration for C3 is slightly below 300ppm only for 1 hour while C4 has CO2 concentration below 300ppm for 9 hours. Thus indicate that high plants volume help increase the CO2 uptake. For C4 condition, during this time O2 data recorded high in between 21.2% to 21.5%. From Figure 4.8, during C4 condition, the CO2 trend shows signs of midday depression of photosynthesis. This can be determined by two-peaked diurnal course (Xu and Shen, 1997). This phenomenon is common and related to intense light as well as high air temperature because of enhanced CO2 efflux from respiration or photorespiration. This shows that, even though the only natural mechanism known to utilize atmospheric CO2 is photosynthesis by green plants, it still have the required of certain conditions. As living things, plants may have their own setback which might jeopardise the goal in reducing the CO2 atmospheric as well as its own life. Thus these indicate that relying only on plants to control and manage the CO2 atmospheric imbalance might not be the perfect solution.

Figure 4.9: Comparison between carbon dioxide and oxygen concentration in courtyard with grass only (C3)

51

4.5

Carbon Dioxide and Temperature

The CO2 and temperature trend resulting from C1 agreed with the figures by Jonathan (2003) and Al Gore (2006) which indicate that when there is more CO2 in the atmosphere, the temperature increases (Figure 4.10). However, the trend change when the vegetation is present and photosynthesis process occur. Even though the temperature trend in C2 is similar with C1, it drops below average a few hours earlier and the CO2 also decrease almost 14%. Substantial differences has been pointed out in Appendix B table B1 and table B4.

From Figure 4.10, it shows that C2 condition has no significant changes of CO2 data. This might be due to high temperature which affects plants growth, metabolism and productivity. As mentioned before, elevated temperature leads to loss of photosynthetic O2-evolution activity and limiting photosynthesis (Dubey, 1997). Differences of both C2 and C1 condition in temperature value (p < 0.05) has been pointed out in Appendix B Table B5. This shows that even small number of plant volume is allocated, there is differences in temperature and CO2 concentration when compare to deserted area.

From Figure 4.10 also indicate that the C4 temperature drops 2 hours earlier when compare to C3. During 11:00am till 15:00pm, the temperature value for C3 is higher when compare with C4. As discussed earlier, plants can offer cooling benefits through two mechanisms that are direct shading and evapo-transpiration. In this case, the plants selected are small plantings therefore indicate that by evapo-transpiration alone can provide significant changes to the outdoor surroundings.

It is believed that C3 temperature drops rapidly compare to C4 because in C4 the plants upright and vertical volume trap heat which make the temperature change gradually. Similarly to C2 when compare with C1 which indicate the temperature decrease slowly and the data trend appear jagged.

(C1)

(C2)

(C3)

(C4)

Figure 4.10: Comparison between carbon dioxide concentration and temperature deviation in various conditions
52

(C1) no plants or grass, (C2) plants only, (C3) grass only, (C4) plants and grass

53

Based from Figure 4.10, Figure 4.11 is illustrated to shows that solar energy reflected by earth surface and absorbed by vegetation in all four condition thus, giving different result in both temperature and CO2 reductions. CO2 trend in C4 and C3 shows significant drop compare to C1 and C2. According to Kusterer (2007), the percentage of solar energy that is reflected back to space is called the albedo. Different surfaces have different albedos. Over the whole surface of the Earth, about 30 percent of incoming solar energy is reflected back to space. Rain forests and vegetation surface reflect only a small portion of the Sun's energy. However, deserts with no plants have high albedos (40%); they reflect a large portion of the Sun's energy.

Figure 4.10 also illustrate that in C4 condition, CO2 decrease below 300 for 8 hours while C3 for 2 hours. Even though C4 and C3 has similar area size covered with vegetation, this differences is due to higher plants volume which requires higher CO2 uptake for photosynthesis process (Figure 4.10). Differences of both condition in temperature value (p < 0.05) has been pointed out in Appendix B Table B2.

Figure 4.11: Solar energy reflected by earth surface and absorbed by vegetation in various conditions (C1) no plants or grass, (C2) plants only, (C3) grass only, (C4) plants and grass

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4.6

Temperature and Relative Humidity

An average temperature in Malaysia is between 23.7C to 31.3C and the average relative humidity throughout a day between 67% until 95% (Hussein and Rahman, 2009). Thus shows that the maximum acceptance temperature is 31.3 C. However, it is mentioned that temperatures above 30C are usually considered uncomfortable (Wang and Wong, 2007). Furthermore, changes in temperature often lead to quite significant alterations to the relative humidity since air can hold more water vapor at higher temperature, relative humidity values decrease as temperature increases (Godish, 2004). This is clearly shows in Figure 4.12.

Furthermore, it is mentioned when temperature was 31C and relative humidity 69%, a wind speed of 5 ms- l or more is necessary to overcome heat discomfort (Pakar, 1985). However, during this study, the wind speed is unnoticeable when measured using Multi-detector LUTRON 4-in-1(Figure 3.4) which most likely because the courtyard is surrounded by walls on all four sides. Thus, shows that the relative humidity in this type of green space is preferred to be above 70% to provide outdoor thermal comfort.

Figure 4.12 shows the significant differences of C1 and C4 for both relative humidity and temperature. With differences of 47% increase for relative humidity and 12% decrease for temperature, staying in the C1 in the noontime is considered very uncomfortable compared to C4. Temperature in C1 condition rose above 30C because there is no photosynthesis process which leads to CO2 accumulation. CO2 molecules known to absorb heat energy and in addition the heat builds up due to buildings surface temperature and heat from earth surface.

C1 has average temperature of 33.3 C and average relative humidity of 50%, while C3 has average temperature of 29.7 C and average relative humidity of 70.7%. With difference of 29% for relative humidity and 10% for temperature, by introducing only grass to the area, the thermal condition has been improved. Even though this type of planting did not provide shade to the area, it still helps reducing the surrounding temperature.

Full sunlight intensity

Figure 4.12: Comparison between temperature and relative humidity according to different courtyard conditions

55

56

C1 and C2 average temperature differences are only 2% even though there are plants volumes in C2 condition. Differences of both conditions in temperature value (p < 0.05) have been pointed out in Appendix B Table B5. These differences might be due to less area covered with vegetation thus less incoming solar energy being absorbed by plants. However, C1 and C2 average relative humidity differences is 23%. This is considered high difference which shows that being in the C2 condition is preferable compare with C1 and even if with only 12% area covered with vegetation, plants existence has modified the thermal comfort of C2 condition.

However, it is shown that even though C2 has more plants volume compare to C3 condition, C3 result for both relative humidity and temperature is better. C2 has average temperature of 32.4 C and average relative humidity of 61.8%, while C3 has average temperature of 29.7 C and average relative humidity of 70.7%. These indicate that being in the C3 condition is much more comfortable compare to in C2 condition. Even with low plant volume, increasing the area size covered with greenery in C3 has increase 8% improvement of temperature and 12% of relative humidity. This also shows that area size covered with vegetation is crucial in providing thermal comfort in urban area.

C4 has average temperature of 29.1 C and average relative humidity of 73.4%. When compared with C2, there are 15% differences in relative humidity and 10 % changes in temperature. Thus shows that by increasing the plant volume both horizontally and vertically as shown in Figure 4.11 would help in increasing the thermal comfort even if the plants did not offer shade. This might also indicate that by providing plants with shade will help increase the thermal condition significantly since it help reduce incoming solar energy and heat.

Even though C4 and C3 condition has small differences, with 4% differences, it still gave impact to the ambient temperature particularly during afternoon from 13:30pm until 15:30pm. However differences of both condition in temperature value (p < 0.05) has been pointed out in Appendix B table B6. Thus shows that by adding more plants volume helps in improving the thermal conditions.

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4.6.1

Day and Night Comparison

From Figure 4.13 show that being in all C1, C2, C3 and C4 conditions at night is somehow tolerable. This is because almost in all condition the temperature is mostly under 30C. This might be due to the absent of sunlight. It is because one of the important factors of atmospheric warming is the incoming solar energy which is the ultimate energy source for all atmospheric processes (Bhatti et al., 2006).

Heat, according to Treshow and Anderson (1989), ultimately derived from solar radiation and in this graph it shows that the temperature decrease as night falls. However, the C1 condition is higher compare with the other conditions due to heat released by the hard surface of the building and soils. Unlike the C1, the vegetation in C2, C3 and C4 reflect only a small portion of the Sun's energy. Instead the vegetation uses this energy to produced food. In C1 condition, the heat is reflected and absorbs by the hard surface and it continued released heat at night. This has cause the heat exchange near the surface which leads to high temperature and relative humidity.

Relative humidity trend at night time shows significant reduction for all four conditions. C1condition shows increase of relative humidity around 21:00pm. Unlike C3 and C4 which started to increase after 14:30pm when the area no longer received full sunlight intensity (Figure 4.12). C2 shows changes and increase of relative humidity trend starting from 17:00pm. This is when the area a fully shaded by the building blocks from direct sunlight. However differences of all conditions in relative humidity value (p < 0.05) has been pointed out in Appendix B Table B7. Thus shows that by implementing vegetation to the area help increase the relative humidity and this is important for the tropical climate because as Wong and Chen (2009) mentioned, the reason for the high temperature and high relative humidity is it will reduce the rate of evaporation of moisture from human body, especially in the locations where the lack of air movement is experienced.

Figure 4.13: Comparison between temperature and relative humidity during day and night
58

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4.6.2

Result from Controlled Environment

Table 4.2 illustrate that the box with grass (B3) is warmer however, figure 4.14 shows that the solar energy absorbed by vegetation in B3 compare with B1 that is empty thus absorbed less solar energy which turn into heat. The B3 has highest temperature because CO2 molecules released by grass absorb heat energy, as well as with the present of the grass which trapped in the box causes it to be warmer (refer figure 4.14). Unlike plants in B2 which give off water vapor through the process of transpiration which help in lowering the temperature. Even though grass in B3 did undergo transpiration process due to the volume size the result is not perceive. B2 shows temperature decrease 2% compare with B1. From this shows that by increasing 12% plants volume help in reducing 2% temperature in average. Figure 4.14 shows that the solar energy absorbed by vegetation compare with B1 that is empty thus absorbed less solar energy.

Table 4.2: Results shows temperature differences in various conditions Time/Condition 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 Average Differences with B1 in percentage
(*Unit: Degree Celsius)

No Plants (B1) 29.4 35.4 37.9 44.4 45.1 38.4 -

Plants (B2) 28.5 31.8 35.2 44.1 47.8 37.5 -2%

Grass (B3) 33.2 39.7 43.4 46.5 46.7 41.9 9%

However, it is important to consider that firstly, the plant volume chosen for this study did not give shade thus by implementing plants with shade would reduce more temperature value. Secondly, even in the trapped condition where heat cannot be released from the glass box, the plants activity has helped modified the temperature thus shows that plants are important in improving the urban thermal environment.

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Figure 4.14: Illustration of different box conditions with different solar energy absorbed by vegetation in (B1) no plants or grass, (B2) plant with volume, (C3) grass only

Table 4.3 shows B2 has high relative humidity percentage due to the high volume size of plants and also high transpiration or evaporative cooling of the plants which make water vapor traps inside the box (refer figure 4.15). After some times, there are vapor covering the glass and liquid on the glass surface which make the condition inside the box appear suffocating. This shows the side effect of high relative humidity which will offset thermal comfort especially when the temperature is high and no wind to overcome heat discomfort. Furthermore, both the B2 and B3 shows increase value of relative humidity.

Table 4.3: Results shows relative humidity differences in various conditions Time/Condition 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 Average Differences with B1 in percentage
(*Unit: RH %)

No Plants (B1) 65 58.7 56.5 55.7 38.4 54.9 -

Plants (B2) 84.4 82.3 81.1 81.8 64.8 78.9 44%

Grass (B3) 66.9 64.8 63.6 63.5 51.3 62.0 13%

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Figure 4.15: Illustration of different box conditions with different transpiration or evaporative cooling of the plants in (B1) no plants or grass, (B2) plant with volume, (C3) grass only

From the observation, even though the grass did increase 13% of relative humidity however the grass in B3 died the next hour due to intense sunlight and high temperature (refer Table 4.2). From the temperature and relative humidity observation, it illustrate that by increasing 10% of the plants volume, the thermal environment would be better because even if the temperature increase more than 20%, the thermal comfort can still be achieved. Thus this shows that in urban area which usually has high temperature requires green space with high plant volume. This is because, even though the plants did not give shade, when it has more volume, it can help modify the outdoor thermal comfort and give balance between temperature and relative humidity.

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

5.1

Conclusion

Increasing plants volume has shown potential in improving air quality and outdoor thermal conditions. The changes of carbon dioxide, oxygen, temperature and relative humidity are found to be significant according to various plants volume allocation. However, the size of horizontal area is much more crucial and when compliment with vertical plants volume indicate significant CO2 reduction and photosynthetic O2-evolution. From this study, result shows that by increasing the plants volume more than 10%, the CO2 uptake will increase more than 15%. Furthermore, rates of transport of gases from the free atmosphere to the surface are much greater over vegetation with vertical volume than over short vegetation such as grassland. With this it shows that green space size in urban area should be reserved more and the plants within it should have more volume. Consequently this could help improving the urban surrounding and thermal condition.

Plants certainly help promote outdoor thermal comfort because even though the temperature in the urban area is high, plants selection with more volume and height help cools down the surrounding by transpiration. This can be perceived even more if both the plants volume and surface area covered with vegetation is increased. It is because from this study it was found that by increasing 10% of the plants volume, the thermal environment would be better because even if the temperature increases more than 20%, the thermal comfort can still be achieved. Plant can give balance

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between temperature and relative humidity thus helps modify the outdoor thermal comfort. Therefore this shows that capability of high plants volume in improving outdoor ambient air and thermal improvement has been identify.

Furthermore, plants and trees having thick canopies and dense foliage provide the most benefits. Therefore, when proposing and implementing urban green space especially in tropical country, it is important to consider plant in volume size. However, it is important to note that the artificial formation should never be viewed as a satisfactory alternative to losing nature. Natural environment and native plants are best to be preserved at all costs.

Even though the only natural mechanism known to utilize CO2 is photosynthesis, it is important to consider that relying on green space and plants volume alone will not formulate a better environmental quality. Nevertheless it is partly as a function that contributing towards enhanced outdoor environment and maintenance of ecological system in urban area.

5.2

Recommendation

There are several suggestions that recommended to be implemented when designing for the outdoor urban green space as to improve the ambient air and thermal condition:

(i)

Plants and vegetation should be introduced extensively yet carefully in urban areas. Selection of plants and vegetation in urban green space should consider the size of horizontal area covered with vegetation, as well as vertical plants volume.

(ii)

Plants and vegetation implemented in between buildings blocks or urban high rise should be located accordingly as to receive full sunlight in the highest amount of time possible.

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(iii)

Plant should be strategically introduced into buildings, horizontally and vertically as well as with height and volume as to optimize the capability of green plants as the only natural mechanism known to utilize atmospheric CO2.

(iv)

Spaces in between building without good ventilation could trap heat thus need profound consideration on design and arrangement of openings that allows air movement.

(v)

High relative humidity will offset thermal comfort especially when the temperature is high and no wind to overcome heat discomfort. Therefore it is important to consider the advantage and disadvantage of locating plants in the enclosed area as it will affect the temperature as well as the humidity.

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