Wind Tunnel, LAI/LAD & Albedo Measurements

NTUA Wind tunnel experiments

• ○Experimental determination of the drag coefficient (Cd) of natural trees/shrubs with different geometric properties.
• ○Representative deciduous and evergreen species, commonly used in urban areas of Mediterranean region, i.e. i) Clementine, ii) Magnolia, iii) Oleander and iv) Tilia.
• ○Trees samples’ height: 1.8m.
• ○Examined wind speeds: 1.4m/s-10m/s.
• ○3 examined samples of each tree type.

Albedo measurements

• ○Use of portable pyranometers to measure the received and reflected radiation by the plants’ foliage and definition of the albedo value.
• ○Measurements conducted for the 4 examined tree types and all samples.

Leaf Area Index/Leaf Area Density measurements

• ○Use of a portable canopy analyzer (LAI- 2000 PCA, LI-COR Biosciences, USA) for the LAI definition.
• ○For each plant, 4 perimetric measurements performed, with the use of a 45 o lens cap, for the better representation of plants’ spatial distribution.

Leaf Area Index/Leaf Area Density measurements

• ○Leaf Mass per Area denotes the dry weight of leaves per the respective leaf area.
• ○LMA measurements performed for all plants.
• ○From each plant, 10 leaves were collected and taken to the laboratory.
• ○Samples were collected from each leaf with the use of a borer with known area. The samples were dried in the oven at 80 o C for 48 hours.
• ○Finally, leaf dry weight was measured with the use of a precision scale.