Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture

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Do Trees Need Umbrellas? Using Raytracing toAssess the Heat Stress of Trees in Cities

Urban trees can face heat stress from surrounding built materials. This paper proposes a raytracing framework that integrates LiDAR and tree species trait data with a biophysical model to simulate hourly leaf temperatures and species-specific physiological responses. Simulating 25 scenarios with 147 trees reveals that the landscape vegetation ratio is more effective at reducing heat stress than façade vegetation. High landscape coverage decreased risk by 5.2%, whereas high façade vegetation could increase risk by up to 12.8%. This open source workflow enables landscape architects to make data-driven material decisions to enhance urban forest health.

Autor / Author: Lu, Yuhao; McCarty, Justin; Fitzpatrick, Michael; Liu, Xun; Wiebe, Dale
Institution / Institution: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg/Canada; ETH Zurich, Zurich/Switzerland; University of Manitoba, Winnipeg/Canada;School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, UBC, Vancouver/Canada; University of Manitoba, Winnipeg/Canada
Seitenzahl / Pages: 9
Sprache / Language: Englisch
Veröffentlichung / Publication: JoDLA – Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture, 11-2026
Tagung / Conference: Digital Landscape Architecture 2026 – Cutting Edge
Veranstaltungsort, -datum / Venue, Date: University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland 28-05-26 - 29-05-26
Schlüsselwörter (de):
Keywords (en): Tree health, heat stress, microclimate modelling, raytracing, urban forest
Paper review type: Full Paper Review
DOI: doi:10.14627/537770048
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