EVOLUCIÓN TEMPORAL DE LA ISLA DE FRESCOR DE UN PARQUE URBANO EN ZONA ÁRIDA

CASO PARQUE CENTRAL, MENDOZAARGENTINA.

Abstract

Urban greening is an efficient strategy for mitigating the urban heat island. However, in arid zones cities the use of vegetation demands the use of a scarce resource, the water. In this sense, it is necessary to rethink the green infrastructures design in order to guarantee their sustainability in terms of costs and benefits. The objective of this work is to examine the effect of the Central Park in Mendoza City, on its thermal behavior and the magnitude of the cool island that it generates on its built environment, in the 2007-2017 period. The Central Park (32 ° 52'37.08 "S and 68 ° 50'28.03" W) is located in a residential area of medium to high construction density and has a strategic value for the urban development of that sector. The tree-species incorporated initially (year 2006), were not adapted to the site environmental conditions and at present only the most tolerant to water restriction and drought have been consolidated. Methodologically, four monitoring campaigns were carried out during the 2007-2008 summers; 2010-2011; 2011-2012 and 2016-2017. In each campaign, sensors were installed with temperature and relative humidity recording channels every 15 minutes. The results indicate that during the 2016-2017 summer the forest structure is up to 37% cooler than in the 2007-2008 season. While the meadow is up to 62% cooler in the 2016-2017 season compared to the 2007-2008 summer. This means that both meadow and forest evidence nocturnal freshness island with respect to the surroundings. However, the park evolution and the consolidation of its forest masses have allowed the meadow structure to behave with greater efficiency.