Bioclimatic conditions under different ground cover types in the greater Athens area, Greece

This research aims to investigate the bioclimatic conditions in different ground cover types in the greater Athens area, Greece: a major street with heavy traffic (MS), an adjacent pedestrian street (PS) with irrigated plants and an urban park. Four sites were selected: one in each of the streets, and two in the park (one of which is covered by irrigated plants (IPS) while the other is covered by non-irrigated plants (NIPS). Air temperature and relative humidity were monitored in each site during the periods of July-August and September-October of the years 2009 and 2010. These parameters were used for the calculation of the thermohygrometric index based on which bioclimatic conditions were evaluated. The “Hot” class prevailed at all sites during the July-August period while similar bioclimatic conditions detected at all environments with irrigated plants at the aforementioned period. During autumn, the “Comfortable” class prevailed at the PS and the urban park compared to the MS. The findings of our study could provide useful information for the design of outdoor spaces with irrigated vegetation as well as for the plantation and irrigation of plant species on city roads with heavy traffic.