Urban vacant lands impart hydrological benefits across city landscapes
Autor: | William D. Shuster, Sean Burkholder, Christa Kelleher, Heather E. Golden |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Science Stormwater General Physics and Astronomy Land cover 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Article General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Environmental impact 11. Sustainability Impervious surface lcsh:Science 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Multidisciplinary General Chemistry 15. Life on land Infiltration (HVAC) 6. Clean water 13. Climate action Redevelopment Demolition Environmental science lcsh:Q Hydrology Surface runoff Water resource management |
Zdroj: | Nature Communications, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2020) Nature Communications |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
Popis: | Cities evolve through phases of construction, demolition, vacancy, and redevelopment, each impacting water movement at the land surface by altering soil hydrologic properties, land cover, and topography. Currently unknown is whether the variable physical and vegetative characteristics associated with vacant parcels and introduced by demolition may absorb rainfall and thereby diminish stormwater runoff. To investigate this, we evaluate how vacant lots modulate citywide hydrologic partitioning by synthesizing a novel field dataset across 500+ parcels in Buffalo, New York, USA. Vacant lot infiltration rates vary widely (0.001 to 5.39 cm h−1), though parcels are generally well-vegetated and gently sloped. Extending field estimates to 2400 vacant parcels, we estimate that vacant lands citywide may cumulatively infiltrate 51–54% additional annual rainfall volume as compared to pre-demolition state, in part by reducing and disconnecting impervious areas. Our findings differentiate vacant lots as purposeful landscapes that can alleviate large water fluxes into aging wastewater infrastructure. The authors investigate the infiltration potential of more than 500 vacant lots in the City of Buffalo, NY, USA. They found that the expanding footprint of pervious cover as urban vacant land provides stormwater volume retention benefits on an event and annual basis. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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