From the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
Spring comes sooner to urban heat islands, with potential consequences for wildlife
Urban-dwelling plants around the globe typically get a head start on the growing season compared to their rural counterparts because of the urban heat island effect, the phenomenon in which cities tend to be warmer than nonurban areas due to their plethora of built surfaces — made of concrete, asphalt and more — and scarcity of vegetation.
But according to the study, published this week in Environmental Research Letters, the urban heat island doesn’t lengthen the growing season uniformly across a city. Within the study site (Madison, Wisconsin) the researchers found that while the growing season lasted up to a week longer in the city’s densest areas, its parks subdued the warming effect and thus helped to normalize the growing season length.
“With a better understanding of the impacts of urbanization on vegetation, we can create more sustainable cities that behave more similarly to the natural areas they have replaced,” says lead author Samuel Zipper, who recently completed his Ph.D. in freshwater and marine sciences and is part of the UW-Madison Water Sustainability and Climate Project, a program funded by the National Science Foundation. “Every little bit of greenness counts within a city.”
The spring green-up underpins many important natural processes, like the budding of flowers and release of pollen. Throwing off the timing of this cycle can have cascading effects on urban ecosystems that may be harmful to birds, butterflies and other wildlife in search of food and habitat. The study shows that urban parks can provide them “cool island” refuges, with natural conditions to which they are better accustomed.
The study is the first of its kind to examine how variations in urban development impact the length of plant growing seasons at fine scales within a city. The research team relied on a uniquely dense network of temperature sensors scattered in and around Madison to get such a detailed look.
The sensors measured on-the-ground temperatures, which indicated when the potential growing season started and ended, and the team compared these measurements with satellite imagery that showed when vegetation actually turned green and brown.
The sensor data revealed that unless researchers are accounting for the types of plants they are observing, satellite data may not be the best way to tease out the temperature-based effects of urbanization on plants. The satellite-based method is commonly used to assess the start and end of growing seasons, but it may be sensing changes unrelated to the urban heat island, the team’s methods suggest.
For instance, grassy lawns in the suburbs greened up more quickly than urban trees despite higher air temperatures in the city. This is because once the snow melts, grass typically greens up sooner than trees, Zipper says.
“The degree to which the potential growing season gets longer is related to urban density, but the actual growing season depends on what is growing on the ground,” he explains.
The study is a step toward better understanding how urban development can impact not just growing seasons but also other natural cycles, like those of water and carbon. It could also help make cities more resilient to climate change.
The urban heat island effect is expected to increase as the climate warms, Zipper says, adding, “The fine-scale decisions we make in cities will be important.”
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“Study: UHI affects the urban growing season”
They needed a study to figure that out?
“Spring comes sooner to urban heat islands, with potential consequences for wildlife”
First thing we need to do is find some wildlife in urban cores.
Rats don’t count?
Good point.
We don’t give rats enough credit. If one mammal has done more to make the world safe for immigrant species, it would be humans. But rats should get special mention for their ability to wipe out native species, helping other migrants to flourish.
And, my theory of dinosaur extinction depends on rats or their ancestors. Flightless birds are the nearest thing we have to dinosaurs, and as soon as the rats (or humans) show up, they are history.
Let’s give credit where credit is due.
Hobos, maybe there is a relationship between hobo distribution and UHI?
This squeaky new PhD is an academic. Probably noticed that the frat keggers tend to happen earlier on the city campus than on the rural ones. Ditto for the urban nightclub scene…
Hence the UHI effect on urban wildlife.
Sounds like a real party animal.
In order to be a party animal, doesn’t one first have to get invited to parties?
This guy strikes me as the type who spent a lot of Friday and Saturday nights watching TV in the basement.
From the article: “The urban heat island effect is expected to increase as the climate warms, Zipper says,”
The urban heat island effect is expected to increase IF the climate warms. Don’t assume too much.
TA
It will absolutely increase as the climate warms, but not because the climate warms.
BTW, the jetstream is lining up in the right way, coming in from the southwest into the area where the cold and warm fronts meet, to make some big tornadoes over the next few days, in Tornado Alley. Most of the action will probably be north of Oklahoma tonight. That’s where everything converges.
Self evident studies are being paid for government and this is being done by,… a PhD in freshwater and marine sciemces!!!
I’m reminded of a Bob Newhart monologue where he’s taking a flight with the Acme Airline and Sash and Door Company.
That was my first thought – how is this study related to freshwater OR marine science? I hope this was not part of his dissertation, though it is still alarming to think that someone thought this was a good project for a newly minted freshwater/marine scientist. No one with expertise in botany or urban wildlife was available?
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/26/us/politics/ap-us-gop-2016-trump-energy-speech.html?ref=aponline
“Trump also promised Thursday to cancel the Paris climate agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax money to a United Nations fund to mitigate effects of climate change worldwide.”
That ought to get the Alarmists going!
“With a better understanding of the impacts of urbanization on vegetation, we can create more sustainable cities that behave more similarly to the natural areas they have replaced,”
So what? Mama Nature can handle it.
Anthony, this is an example of a dumb post that your blog can do without. If you eliminate posts like these, not only will the quality of your blog increase, but the workload (for you and your mods) will decrease. This is an easy, pragmatic answer to some of the woes that you’ve pointed out (in your posting over the weekend)…
IMHO exposing the weakness of the alarmists is beneficial……and therefore not dumb….
SOB(?!), we’ve got enough bill nye posts to do that…
{8^0)-|~<
Well I happen to think it’s relevant and not a dumb post at all. It’s a press release not my original work. I have an interest in UHI.
I believe UHI effect is the biggest single reason so many city dwellers think they’ve seen a change for much warmer in their world, possibly second to the constant “hottest year evah” refrain in the media.
The same UHI will no doubt ease the effects of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans being in concurrent cold phases, but wo’s counting blessings nowadays?
We’re talking here about climate “science”. Show me where the dumb stops and I’ll be delighted to stop talking about it.
If you don’t like it. Don’t read it.
Simple.
No, mark, you’re right… This isn’t about that. Anthony is looking for ways to better his blog. I’m just suggesting that if he’d cut out the stupid stuff then the folks would be happier and anthony & co. would have a needed reduction in their work load. Long time regulars have voiced the complaint that anthony has been posting at break neck speed of late. Some think that the content could use a little improvement as well. I’m just glad to get anthony’s attention for a pragmatic solution to some of his problems. (didn’t mean to be hurtful, just wanted to help…)
You might be happier, but given the number of posts on these articles, it really does look like most people do not agree with you.
You really should refrain from assuming that everyone agrees with you, especially when the evidence runs the other way.
It’s not about me… There are grumblings from the folks that anthony is posting too much and too much questionable stuff these days. I just want to get it into his head that this is something he might want to consider. It’s up to him. He might think about it, then again he might dismiss it. The important thing is that he gets ideas about what he might do just to ponder them. That’s what he’s been asking for…
MarkW May 26, 2016 2:21 pm
“Study: UHI affects the urban growing season”
They needed a study to figure that out?
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Mark, nice to see that you were in agreement with me until you decided to disagree. dumb study = dumb post (QED…)
The proportion of land, that is covered by cities?
Apart from the way UHI effect biases the average high, the amount of the of “environment” effected by the studied effect?
Does not seem to be defined by Sam Zipper, seems even the obvious eludes these clowns.
Funny. I thought the weather stations that were affected by UHI’s were the cause of perceived global warming, but now I’m told that GW will make the UHI even worse. Pretty worthless study, actually. That being said, they do a neat thing here in Santiago where the driveways and some parking lots are a checkerboard concrete pattern with grass growing in between. They look much better than solid concrete and seem much cooler. Only problem is watering and mowing your driveway.
I live near the mouth of a river that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. During the summer, the temperature can drop about 6 degrees when I approach and enter my community. In the winter, the temperature is usually a few degrees warmer. This year we have experienced a cooler, rainy April and May. It has finally started to warm up a bit, just in time for opening our community pool for Memorial Day. My azaleas, which usually bloom in April are just now starting to flower.
I saw a NOAA future weather forcast yesterday that shows the East and West coasts as warmer than normal, and the central part of the U.S. as cooler than normal, in the coming months.
I’m not sure I have ever seen a weather pattern like that. The central U.S. is the hottest part of the country during the summer, once the heat really settles in, at least in my memory, which is fairly long.
I am real curious to see a weather pattern that keeps the central U.S. cooler than the coasts during the heighth of the summer. I’ll also appreciate the cooler weather, if it happens. 🙂
Usually, around here, it is about 105 degress or more sometime during the summer. It was up to 114 degrees in 2010. So we will take a little cool weather, if we can get it. Maybe *this* NOAA forecast will be accurate.
The Berkeley study on UHI is broadly correct, I would think, in that given the very small percentage that urban areas represent of the total surface area of the earth, the likelihood is that the effect of UHI on overall surface temperatures is negligible. The problem is that it appears that a large minority, and in many places a small majority, of surface temperature data collection points are located in urban, built up or commercial/industrial areas. This means that artificially high temperatures due to UHI are being heavily relied upon thereby distorting the picture in surface temperature data sources, particularly when this involves (as it invariably does) the projection of this questionable temperature data, by “sparse data infilling” onto the vast areas of the earth’s surface not covered by temperature data stations.
Yeah, the surface temperature data is useless as a scientific tool. It says what its authors want it to say, not what the real world says, which makes it a propaganda tool.
The satellite temperature record is the only uncontaminated temperature data we have. And fortunately, there are still a few honest people in the world, who will tell it like it is.
Urban areas typically amount to only a few percent of the land areas in the US, and the plants cultivated therein are more often than not non-native species that would be of little interest to migratory fowl. Native plants to which the migratory fowl have become accustomed are more often than not considered to be ‘weeds’ by the denizens of these UHI areas, and are often systematically eradicated in these areas.
If it were not for the corruption of climate science, a study like this might be of interest and of use. This would be a good study for a horticultural professional to do, the better to advise the cities of what sort of plants might be encouraged in their local environment. You know, practical knowledge to solve a problem. The Romans were good at that, but, hey, the Dark Ages and all. But, since climate science is corrupt, it will just be used for propaganda.