Influence of spatial characteristics of green spaces on microclimate in Suzhou Industrial Park of China.

ABSTRACT

Continuous urban development leads to urban heat island effects. Research suggests that urban green spaces can help effectively reduce urban heat island effects in the summer. Previous studies have mainly focused on the influence of different underlying surfaces on air cooling and humidification. There is a lack of in-depth research on the relationship between park structure and microclimatic effects. Here, we examined the main landscape parameters of green spaces in 15 parks located in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) with a subtropical maritime monsoon climate zone during the summer to analyze their influence on the microclimate. We adopted a multiple regression method to perform a quantitative analysis of the correlation between the factors and the cooling and humidifying effects. We used one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) and multiple linear regression statistical analysis methods to study the influence of woodland density and water bodies on the microclimatic effect of the green areas. The result shows that the average cooling and humidifying effect of medium-size green spaces was most significant during high-temperature hours in the daytime. Also, the result shows that the shape and size of water areas within a green space have a significant influence on local cooling and humidification.