A microclimate model for plant transpiration effects

Abstract

In the context of global warming, microclimate improvement is one of several important strategies for alleviating environmental problems such as urban heat islands, and plants are indispensable components of these strategies. The urban microclimate has thus become a pertinent research topic, and simulating the effects of plant transpiration in microclimate models has received increasing attention. Using the principles of fluid dynamics combined with the assistance of FLUENT software, this study constructed an urban microclimate simulation model that includes the effect of canopy transpiration in an attempt to obtain relatively accurate parameter values for future urban microclimate studies. Our model demonstrated the effect of plant transpiration on the mass-heat exchange of the plant, and the effect of solar radiation, wind speed, and humidity on the transpiration rate. The results showed the importance of plant canopy transpiration for microclimate simulation parameters, and our model also accurately simulated the mass-heat exchange of the microclimate as well as the resulting airflow. This study thus provides a more accurate method for microclimate optimization.