Displays

An increased awareness of the way in which urbanisation, climate change, a reduction in the quality, quantity of and access to green space and natural infrastructure (such as blue spaces) all interact to threaten health and well-being of urban populations (Nesshover, et al, 2017; Kabisch & van de Bosch, 2017) has led to the emergence of a new conceptual framework, Nature-based Solutions. Through the management and use of nature, this concept aims to co-produce ecosystems services that not only allow cities to mitigate and adapt against the effects of climate change and increased urbanisation, but also reduce the public health risks associated with these challenges(WHO, 2016, 2017; Hartig at el. 2014; Kabisch et al. 2017), stimulate economies to improve inequality in cities (Nesshover, et al, 2017) and improve the quality of urban life (Mitchel & Popham, 2008; Mitchell et al. 2015). Using data from the Urban Nature Atlas, a database of a 1000 nature-based solutions from across a 100 European cities, this paper examines how the differing characteristics of these solutions (such as their ecological domains, ecosystems services, forms of governance, innovation, etc) are clustered and how the characteristics of these clusters relate to different social, economic and health factors that influence quality of life in our cities.

How to cite: Cooper, C.: How are the characteristics of Nature-based solutions clustered in European cities?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7877, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7877, 2020.

Green roofs represent a market of several tens millions of m² implemented every year in Europe. They appear to be particularly efficient to reduce the potential impact of new and existing urban developments by making the city “greener” and more resilient to climate change. Indeed, they provide several ecosystem services, particularly in stormwater management, urban heat island attenuation, and biodiversity conservation. For these reasons, municipalities are implementing specific policies to promote a large diffusion of green roofs on their territory. Nevertheless, to optimize their performances through urban scales, green roofs spatial distribution should be analysed.

In order to study the current green roof implementation and to assess the relevancy of the related policies, a multi-scale analysis based on fractal theory as been conducted. Such analysis, widely used in geophysics, is particularly suitable to characterize spatial fields exhibiting strong heterogeneity over wide range of scales. This fractal analysis was performed here to characterize the spatial distribution of green roofs in several European cities (London, Amsterdam, Geneva, Lyon, Paris, Berlin, Frankfort, Copenhagen, Oslo…). These cities have been chosen because: (i) GIS database containing the location and geometry of implemented green roofs is available, (ii) they have implemented various kind of green roofs policies.

The results show that every studied city depicts similar behaviour with the definition of three distinct scaling regimes. The second regime (between 16/32 and 512/1024 m) characterizes not only single roofs but their distribution in space which is what we are interested in. The fractal dimension charactering this regime is the most variable, ranging from 0.50 to 1.35 and illustrates some different degrees of progress in urban greening. It has to be noticed that the more ambitious incentive measures (where monetary subsidies are proposed) correspond to the cities characterized by the highest fractal dimension. Nevertheless, as these policies are relatively recent, they cannot completely explain the current green roof distribution (architectural history has also to be mentioned).

The obtained results demonstrate some significant inconsistencies between political ambition and their in situ realization. They illustrate the necessity to better take into account the spatial distribution of green roof implementations in order to optimize their performances. To provide ecosystem services at large scales, green roofs have to be widely and relevantly implemented. Fractal analysis can be seen as innovative multi-scale approach to adjust policies for this purpose.

This work has been made thanks to ANR EVNATURB project (https://hmco.enpc.fr/portfolio-archive/evnaturb/) and the Academic Chair “Hydrology for Resilient Cities”, a partnership between Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and the Veolia group.

How to cite: Versini, P.-A., Gires, A., Tchiguirinskaia, I., and Schertzer, D.: Assessment of green roof incentive policies in European cities by a fractal analysis , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13295, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13295, 2020.

Idea and Objectives: This case study presents first findings of the GreenCityLabHue project. The project aims at implementing an urban learning lab in the city of Hue, Vietnam, for the participatory identification and implementation of innovative nature-based solutions for the protection and improvement of urban ecosystem services and climate change adaptation. We will present urgent environmental and societal challenges for the city of Hue, including the estimated impacts of climate change and resulting disaster risks. Subsequently, we will discuss elements of the green-blue infrastructure to tackle these risks in a sustainable and environmentally just manner in the context of a proposed typology of nature-based solutions. This typology specifically shifts the focus from a European perspective towards nature-based solutions that are locally relevant to strengthen the resilience of Hue and comparable cities in Central Vietnam and/or South-East Asia.

Background: Vietnam is a country that faces multiple challenges. It is a country that experiences rapid urban growth, with an estimated 50% of citizens living in urban areas by 2030 up from 35%, resulting in urban expansion that necessitates safeguarding urban ecosystem services, e.g., for the protection of human health and human well-being. Vietnam is also heavily affected by climate change. Particularly in Central Vietnam, cities face increasing risks of flooding, storms, and temperature extremes.

By providing multifunctional ecosystem services and diverse benefits, nature-based solutions—and in particular green-blue infrastructure elements—may help to address the aforementioned environmental and societal challenges in a sustainable and integrative manner, e.g., for maintaining air quality, stormwater mitigation, climate regulation, and improving environmental equity.

Hue is the capital of the Thua Thien-Hue province, located in Central Vietnam on the banks of the Perfume River. It has a population of approximately half a million people, represents a touristic and educational hotspot, and is rated a “top priority city” by the Vietnamese government. In Hue, first steps that consider strengthening the green-blue infrastructure were devised in form of the Hue GrEEEn City Action Plan. However, a more holistic urban planning approach that also addresses challenges related to climate change is still lacking.

How to cite: Scheuer, S., Jache, J., Rösler, K., Tuan Anh, T., Ngoc Tung, N., Vu Minh, N., Quang Huy, N., Thi Binh Minh, H., Konopatzki, P., Stolpe, F., Sumfleth, L., Zschiesche, M., and Haase, D.: Proposing a typology of nature-based solutions for strengthening resilience of Central Vietnamese cities – First findings from the GreenCityLabHue project, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10107, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10107, 2020.

Urban green and blue spaces such as water bodies, parks and street trees reduce outdoor temperatures and energy consumption of buildings through evaporative cooling and shading and are thus promoted as nature based solutions to enhance climate resilience. However, in growing cities, supply of urban green space often conflicts with increasing housing demand, resulting in dense neighbourhoods with lack of green. Therefore, the transdisciplinary project “Future green city” seeks to identify possibilities for balancing population growth and increasing living space demand with the development of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. In a transdisciplinary approach with the City of Munich, living labs are used to investigate how nature-based solutions can be integrated into spatial planning processes.

For the case of an urban redevelopment site with row buildings and a vast amount of greenery, eight densification scenarios were elaborated with city planners to derive planning guidelines for the further development of the area. The scenarios consider the effects of densification with additional floors and new buildings, the use of new building materials and energy efficiency standards, the construction of underground car parks and consequently a loss of green space to varying degrees. We are particularly interested in the interplay of densification and availability of green and its impact on indoor and outdoor thermal comfort, energy efficiency of buildings and their life cycle based emission balance. Microclimate modelling is employed to quantify and evaluate the impacts of densification on outdoor thermal conditions during heat days and the benefits of urban green in reducing heat stress.

First modelling results show that additional floors have less impact on human thermal comfort than loss of green space caused by the provision of required parking space. Though underground car parking avoids surface soil sealing, it leads to the removal of existing urban green and excludes the planting of large trees. Informal instruments such as mobility concepts can reduce space consumption by car parking. Moreover, urban redevelopment also bears the potential to increase climate resilience of the stock by targeted greening strategies. The potential is greater, the earlier climate change adaptation is considered as a topic in planning processes. Modelling helps to explore strength and weaknesses of different alternatives in early design stages.

How to cite: Erlwein, S. and Pauleit, S.: Green or grey? Integration of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation in densifying cities, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11151, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11151, 2020.

A research project called "Nature based solutions for water management in the peri-urban: linking ecological, social and economic dimensions (NATWIP)" started in 2019 and has the overall goal of: contributing to closing the water cycle gap by exploring the potential that nature-based solutions (NBS) offer to address water management challenges in landscape areas that have been neglected because they lie in the transition zones between the urban and the rural. Since NBS have most commonly been applied in urban areas, it is interesting to broaden the focus to assess the application of NBS on the outskirts of urban areas or the urban fringe as such areas are often affected by expansion processes of the city. Furthermore, these areas have historically played important roles in development and sustenance of urban centres, provision of water-related ecosystem services, particularly water supply, wastewater management and flood control.

Key NATWIP activities include the establishment of a methodological framework to analyse the social, economic and ecological sustainability dimensions of NBS and subsequently to apply the framework at case study sites in Norway, Sweden, Brazil, India, South Africa and Spain. These case study sites present very diverse water management problems as well as NBS. As more emphasis is placed on the use of NBS in the Nordic countries it is important to identify successful mechanisms for their implementation and monitoring. The case study site in Norway, Skien, represents a highly relevant urban challenge to balance water quality and the increases of water quantity as a result of climate change. This site focuses on the opening of a buried river using blue-green infrastructure as a catalyst for city development. In Sweden rain water harvesting in Gotland has been used in order to address water shortages caused by drought as well as water excess.

The other case studies sites present interesting examples where the framework is used to explore potential management practices that Nordic countries could learn from. In Spain, the Barcelona Metropolitan backbone is home to green-blue infrastructure and a variety of NBS that aim to improve environmental quality and water cycle management. The Brazilian case study focuses on the most advanced Payment for Environmental Service initiative in Latin America. Through this project, fees collected from water users pay farmers to conserve and restore riparian forests on their lands. In India rainwater harvesting is used to combat water scarcity and compromised water quality in new peri-urban areas. Two case studies in South Africa show how NBS can address the problems of water scarcity in combination with increasingly variable rainfall, frequent drought and floods as well as growing water demand.

Results from the first assessment of these case study sites will be presented to highlight similarities, differences, challenges, as well as potential synergies for learning from the different case study site contexts.

How to cite: Oen, A. and Hale, S.: Nature-based solutions for water resource management in the urban fringe, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10553, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10553, 2020.

The principles of circular economy and sustainability involve also water management. Since both scarcity and demand of water are increasing, wastewater reuse represents a necessary element to preserve the environment while guaranteeing human development. Greywater is the amount of wastewater that is more suitable for reuse purposes: it comes from sinks, showers, bath tubes and laundry. Greywater has low pollutant concentration and developed countries generate high volumes of it everyday.

Nature-based solutions are well suited for greywater treatment purposes thanks to their environmental and energetic advantages. In fact, these green systems have low energy consumption (that means also low CO₂ emissions), improve the quality of the air (e.g. capturing CO₂), reduce heat island and promote biodiversity. However, their efficiency in treating greywater needs to be deeply investigated in order to couple their efficacy with the lack of space in urban areas.

In this study we have realized a pilot system to treat greywater through green walls, in order to exploit the unused surfaces of buildings and improve urban areas, increasing their sustainability and resilience as recommended from the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) of the UN 2030 Agenda. Our innovative system produces treated greywater that can be reused for non-potable purposes (e.g. gardening and toilet flushing), driving a reduction of potable water consumption in our houses.

In order to guarantee aesthetic requirements, we selected three types of evergreen plants that are able to survive a great amount of water per day. We prepared different porous media mixes in order to evaluate the effects of additives on the common media used in usual green walls. We built six modular panels with three replicates per media mix, in order to assess the statistical variability of the results. Each panel has four independent columns of three pots. Each column contains a different porous media mix and is planted with the same sequence of three plant species. We daily fed each panel with around 100 L of synthetic greywater and monitored different parameters (e.g. BOD, COD, DO, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, E. coli).

In a first phase we evaluated differences in treatment performance among different mixes. Removal efficiency exhibits some variability depending on the considered parameter but in general our results show statistically significant differences between configurations. In a second phase we consider the treatment performances along each column. Preliminary results of this phase show a significant decrease in pollution after the second line of pots already. In summary, concentrations at the system outlet respect the most common reuse guidelines for many parameters without any other treatment.

How to cite: Costamagna, E., Boano, F., Caruso, A., Fiore, S., Chiappero, M., Galvao, A., Pisoeiro, J., Rizzo, A., and Masi, F.: Treatment and reuse of domestic greywater through green walls, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-818, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-818, 2020.

Increasing urbanization, evolving socio-economic scenarios and the impacts of climate change require innovative strategies to adapt urban and peri-urban environments, making them more resilient and sustainable. In this context, Nature Based Solutions (NBS), i.e. actions inspired or supported by nature, can be designed to adapt and provide integrated responses to the environmental, social and economic future challenges.

The FLORENCE (FLOod risk and water Resources management with Nature based solutions on City Environment) project evaluates the possibility of including NBS as an innovative tool for the management of the territory of the City of Florence (Firenze), Italy. The project develops a quantitative evaluation methodology that clarifies the benefits and co-benefits of NBS, highlighting the limitations and exploring the possible synergies with existing infrastructures.

Starting from the existing literature on the NBS siting, a set of parameters to be considered in order to map Ecosystem Services (ES) priority areas (main functions and co-benefits) is derived. This analysis is then coupled with the identification of the constraints (regulatory, urban planning, economic, environmental, social) which determine the boundary conditions for the inclusion of NBS in the Florence city urban environment. Once the most suitable implementation areas of NBS are identified, the hydraulic modeling of multiple NBS implementation scenarios using EPA SWMM is implemented. This allows the definition of the scenario that best respond to the city's green development needs and that maximize the production of ES.

How to cite: Pacetti, T., Pampaloni, M., Castelli, G., Caporali, E., Bresci, E., Isola, M., and Lompi, M.: Flood risk and water resources management with nature-based solutions on Florence city environment, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18833, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18833, 2020.

 The growth of urbanization and the intensification of extreme rainfall events, that has characterized the last century, are leading to an increase of pluvial floods, which are becoming a significant problem in many cities. Among the different solutions proposed and developed to mitigate flood risk in urban areas, green roofs and rainwater harvesting systems have been deeply investigated to reduce the runoff contribution generated from rooftops. These tools have been largely studied at small scale, analysing the flood reduction that can be achieved from one single building or in a small neighbourhood, without considering the large-scale effects. In this work, the potential impact of the installation of green-blue solutions on all the rooftops of a city is evaluated, assuming to place green roofs on flat roofs and rainwater harvesting systems on sloped ones. We investigated nine cities from 5 different countries (Canada, Haiti, United Kingdom, Italy and New Zealand), representing different climatological and geomorphological characteristics. The behaviour of the blue-green solution was estimated with the help of a conceptual lumped ecohydrological model and the mass conservation, using rainfall and temperature time series as climatological input to derive the discharge reduction for different scenarios. Due to the high percentage of sloped roofs in most of the investigated locations, the cost-efficiency analysis highlights that the large-scale installation of rainwater harvesting tanks enables to achieve higher mitigation capacity than green roofs at lower cost. Green roofs, however, present many additional benefits (such as biodiversity contribution, thermal insulation for buildings, pollution reduction and increase of aesthetic added value) that need to be evaluated by urban planners and policy makers. The best achievable performance is given by the coupled system of rainwater harvesting tanks and intensive green roofs: for extreme rainfall events this solution guarantees a discharge reduction up to 20% in most of the cities.

How to cite: Cristiano, E., Farris, S., Deidda, R., and Viola, F.: Installation of blue-green solutions at large scale to mitigate pluvial floods, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3921, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3921, 2020.

This study aims to present a GIS-based method for estimating the transversal connectivity among natural landscape patches along urban rivers within the metropolitan area. The method presented here relies on the transversally connected natural landscape mosaics (TCNLM) model, which is based on a reclassification procedure for landscape patches based on their relative connectivity to the water sources. The identified existing and potential TCNLMs can be considered as focal areas for providing ecosystem services in the metropolitan zone. The raw material of the analytical process is Urban Atlas (UA) land cover data. All phases of the process are modelled in Graphical Modeler in QGIS software. The metropolitan areas of London and Paris are selected as specimens of urban agglomerations along major waterbodies such as Thames and Seine River. The selected cases have considerable similarities and differences among them. Jointly with the results, they provide a comparative ground for a quantitative and qualitative evaluation. The results show that the method is easily reproducible in other European metropolitan areas being developed along watercourses. The presented model brings a rapid method for highlighting the transversal connectivity capacities of the natural landscapes along rivers within the metropolitan area in support of Nature Based Solutions for urban challenges.

How to cite: Hysa, A.: A GIS Based Model Proposal for Assessing the Transversal Connectivity of Natural Landscapes Along the Urban Rivers in support of NBS, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-16428, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-16428, 2020.

In the light of inconclusive evidence on the effectiveness of noise protection measures, new strategies are needed to tackle health risks of increasing air traffic. Noise-related health issues are a result of the complex interplay between noise exposure, coping strategies and sound perception, which might be in turn influenced by environmental quality and neighbourhood satisfaction. Thus, the conventional approach of primarily reducing noise levels does not automatically lead to improved well-being and quality of life for affected people. Nature-based solutions, including trees, parks and other tranquil areas, are increasingly being recognised as health-promoting and sustainable forms of noise mitigation in growing cities, as highlighted by the EU Environmental Noise Directive.

Apart from its ability of physically reducing sound pressure levels, the potentials of vegetation as a psychological buffer through reduction of stress and mental fatigue need to be further investigated. A multisensory approach in communities around London Heathrow Airport explored how acoustic and visual factors affect cognitive and behavioural responses to aircraft noise. Since the interplay of different senses appears to be an important moderator of sound perception, self-rated measures of psychological stressors and resources were combined with objective evaluations of visual and acoustic environmental quality.

High-quality neighbourhoods were associated with (i) lower general noise annoyance, (ii) fewer noise-disturbed outdoor activities, (iii) higher satisfaction with the residential area, and (iv) better opportunities for recreational coping. Particularly high-quality green spaces appeared to reduce stress and refresh concentration capacity by enabling noise-exposed residents to shift from effortful (e.g. focusing on aircraft noise) to effortless (e.g. experiencing tranquillity) attention, thus potentially enhancing well-being. Nature sounds, such as sounds of birds, wind and water, had limited capacity for reducing perceived outdoor sound levels. Yet, their main potentials in improving a soundscape lay in their intrinsic ability to promote relaxation and tranquillity, which might in turn reduce perceived noise exposure in the longer term.

Shifting the research interest towards the question of how to achieve desirable soundscapes and neighbourhoods rather than just finding ways to technically eliminate noise, this soundscape study provides an insightful starting point for creating healthier environments in the vicinity of airports. Demonstrating the potential of tranquil urban green spaces as compensation strategies in neighbourhoods affected by aircraft noise might support residents to adopt active and health-enhancing coping strategies, and therefore generate wider spill-over effects on satisfaction, restoration, well-being, and quality of life among communities living under the flight paths. This will help build strategic alliances between health promotion, noise mitigation, and sustainable urban planning.

How to cite: Föllmer, J., Moore, G., and Kistemann, T.: Urban parks as nature-based solutions for improved well-being under the flight paths: A soundscape analysis in the vicinity of Heathrow Airport, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-17661, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17661, 2020.

Numerous studies have found that green spaces can promote human health. However, most of the studies only investigate the relationship between green space and health in one single city. Therefore, whether the relationship between green space and health differs among cities with distinct differences in social-cultural and climatic context or there are universal patterns regarding such relationship is still remain unanswered. To investigate this question, this study aims to compare the associations between green space quantity and self-reported health for university students in Singapore and Turin, two high density cities with different social-cultural and climatic context. Students from National University of Singapore (NUS) and Politecnico di Torino (POLITO) were involved in an online survey to measure their self-reported health, use of green spaces and confounding factors. Through collecting the geographic location of student’s residence from online survey, the quantity of green spaces within 400 m-radius buffer surrounding the residence was calculated for each respondent. Through statistical analysis, the associations between green space quantity and self-reported health were revealed in both cities. The results from this work enhanced the knowledge regarding the dependence of green space-health relationship on social-cultural context.

How to cite: Zhang, L. and Tan, P. Y.: The associations between urban green spaces and self-reported health for university students in Singapore and Turin, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21301, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21301, 2020.

The preservation of open spaces is treated as an important policy in recent years as urbanization level is increasing higher in the world (Geoghegan, 2002). There are multiple positive effects associated with open spaces, including recreation, aesthetic and environment values (Geoghegan, 2002). The positive effects of open space as a nature-based solution on urban social, economic and environmental factors have been explored by a number of previous papers, such as housing price (Lutzenhiser & Netusil, 2001; Bolitzer & Netusil, 2000), spatial pattern (Lewis et al., 2009; Irwin & Bockstael, 2004), human health (Groenewegen et al., 2006; Irvine et al., 2013) and social safety (Groenewegen et al., 2006; Fischer et al., 2004). However, relatively less papers have predicted the open spaces’ influences on socio-economic development. This paper will firstly verify the open space influences on economic factor (housing sale prices) and social factor (sense of safety, residential agglomeration) using a linear regression model. We consider the housing attributes, urban form attributes (eg. population density, block size, road density), driving and walking accessibility to different types of public open spaces, and accessibility to other amenities (eg. hospitals and schools) as influential features. Then, we test several machine learning algorithms in predicting the housing price and sense of safety change based on future open space planning scenarios, and choose the most suitable machine learning algorithm. City of Chicago, Illinois, US is chosen to be study area since data availability, sufficient open space types and long-term open space preservation strategies. This study can quantify the values of the open spaces in influencing socio-economic developments and provide a way to test the open space scenarios. It has potential to work as a tool for local planners to make better nature-based solutions in open space designs and plans.

How to cite: Chen, S., Cai, Z., and Deal, B.: Test the Effectiveness of the Open Spaces Scenario in Promoting Socio-economic Development, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7120, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7120, 2020.

Coastal ecosystems are threatened by habitat loss and anthropogenic “smoothing” as hard engineering approaches to sea defence, such as sea-walls, rock armouring, and offshore reefs, become common place. These artificial structures use homogenous materials (e.g. concrete or quarried rock) and as a result, lack the surface heterogeneity of natural rocky shoreline known to play a key role in niche creation and higher species diversity. Despite significant investment and research into soft engineering and ecologically sensitive approaches to coastal development, there are still knowledge gaps, particularly in relation to how patterns that are observed in nature can be utilised to improve artificial shores.

Given the technical improvements and significant reductions in cost within the portable remote sensing field (structure from motion and laser scanning), we are now able to plug gaps in our understanding of how habitat heterogeneity can influence overall site diversity. These improvements represent an excellent opportunity to improve our understanding of the spatial scales and complexity of habitats that species occur within and ultimately improve the ecological design of engineered structures in areas experiencing “smoothing” and habitat loss.

In this talk, I will highlight how advances in remote sensing techniques can be applied to context-specific ecological problems, such as low diversity and loss of rare species within marine infrastructure. I will describe our approach to combining large-scale ecological, 3D geophysical and engineering research to design statistically-derived ecologically-inspired solutions to smooth artificial surfaces. We created experimental concrete enhancement units and deployed them at a number of coastal locations. I will present preliminary ecological results, provide a workflow of unit development and statistical approaches, and finally discuss how these advances may improve future ecological intervention and design options.

How to cite: Lawrence, P., Evans, A., Brooks, P., D'Urban Jackson, T., Jenkins, S., Moore, P., McNally, C., Natanzi, A., Davies, A., and Crowe, T.: Developing statistically driven eco-engineering designs from LiDAR and structure from motion surveys for marine artificial structures., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3435, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3435, 2020.

Climate impacts increase with higher warming and evidence is mounting that impacts increase strongly above 1.5°C. Therefore, adaptation needs also rise substantially at higher warming levels. Further, limits to adaptation will be reached above 1.5°C and loss and damage will be inferred. Coastal Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have arisen as popular adaptation options, particularly for coastal developing economies and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), because of their lower overall costs compared to traditional grey infrastructure approaches such as seawalls and levees; their economic co-benefits through positive effects on sectors such as tourism and fisheries; and a broader desire to shift toward so-called blue economies. Two NbS of particular interest for coastal protection are: 1) coral reefs, which reduce coastal erosion and flooding through wave attenuation; and 2) mangroves, which provide protection from storms, tsunamis and coastal erosion. Although there is international enthusiasm to implement these solutions, there is limited understanding of the future viability of these ecosystems, particularly in their capacities as coastal adaptation service providers, in a warmer world.

In this presentation, we highlight how long and with how much coverage coral and mangrove ecosystems can provide coastal protection services for future climate scenarios, using air temperature and sea level rise as climate change indicators. A mathematical model for each ecosystem is developed, based on the physical parameters necessary for the sustainability of these ecosystems. We investigate the protective capabilities of each ecosystem under warming and sea level rise scenarios compatible with: below 1.5°C warming; below 2°C warming; warming based on current global commitments to carbon emissions reductions (3-3.5°C); and with no carbon mitigation (6°C). Results show what temperature and sea level rise values beyond which these ecosystems can no longer provide coastal protective services. These results have also been framed in a temporal window to show when these services may not be feasible, beyond which more costly adaptation measures and/or loss and damage may be incurred.

How to cite: Martyr-Koller, R., Lissner, T., and Schleussner, C.-F.: Limits on nature-based solutions for coastal adaptation based on climate change indicators, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7942, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7942, 2020.

The increase of anthropogenic pressure and permanent pollution of the natural and urbanized environment requires the availability of effective methods for monitoring the ecological quality of territories. The priority should be considered simple, cheap and knowledge-intensive methods that can be owned by researchers without special environmental education. Such methods are the methods of phenogenetic indication and assessment of the morphological variability of widespread plants. Contaminants and pollutants can be divided into 4 categories: toxins, teratogens, carcinogens and mutagens. Toxins inhibit the development of organisms, but do not affect their genetic program. Teratogens disrupt the implementation of the genetic program. Mutagens and carcinogens destroy the genetic program itself, and these disorders can be passed on to the next generation. A convenient object of express monitoring is the birch Betula pubescens (alba) L, which is widespread in Eurasia. Toxic emissions destroy its growth and normal ontogenesis. The variability of the linear parameters of the leaves increases under environment stress. Teratogens increase the proportion of trees with dichotomy and trichotomy. The indicator of fluctuating asymmetry of leaves can serve as a criterion for mutagenic pollution of the environment. This paper presents estimates of morphological variability in different places of the Leningrad region. The coefficient of fluctuating asymmetry KA = (l₁ - l₂)² / (l₁ + l₂) is introduced, where l₁ and l₂ are linear indicators of asymmetry. A high correlation was established between the level of diversity and the distance from the motorways and pollution by lead compounds, which is a teratogen. Fluctuating asymmetry is increased in places of radioactive contamination, depends on the distance to the trace of the Chernobyl disaster, the nuclear power plant. It is also increased in places of natural increased background radiation associated with the outputs of radioactive radon and the presence of granites. A map of the distribution of vegetation with varying degrees of morphological diversity and fluctuating asymmetry is presented. It is proposed to use the developed methods and algorithms for the assessment of toxic, teratogenic and mutagenic pollution of the environment and for the ecological monitoring of urbanized and non-urban areas.

How to cite: Sapunov, V.: The use of birch Betula pubescens folia morphology as indicator of atmosphere pollution and anthropogenic pressure, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-326, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-326, 2020.

Abstract: Rapid growth of urban population and consequential increasing traffic, construction of buildings, roads, industrial areas, affects urban soils as well as urban environment in general. Urban soils differ from the natural soils by their disturbed structure resulting from waste disposal, construction sites, pollution from atmospheric deposition, traffic and industrial activities. Mismanagement of urban environment can cause severe contamination of green areas in cities, with serious health risk for urban population. To prevail those issues and improve the sustainability of urban green areas, innovative and nature based solutions (NBS) should gain more attention, particularly those easily applied such as tree-based phytoremediation. Unlike traditional remediation techniques that are expensive, very demanding and can cause secondary pollution, tree-based phytoremediation is NBS with wide spectrum of application. It is low-cost technique, based on urban green infrastructure (parks, alleys, community gardens) and has numerous benefits reflected throught sustainable management of urban soils and improvement of general environmental, health, social and economic conditions for urban population. Primarly, urban green infrastructure consist of different tree species capable to mitigate soil contamination, especially contamination with toxic heavy metals (HMs). Regeneration of urban ecosystems based on the role of tree species is connected to ability of trees to retain, uptake and decompose pollutants (including HMs) from contaminated urban soils, enabling their re-use process and turning them into green and environmental friendly areas. Taking into account advantages of phytoremediation technique, the aim of this paper is to present concentration of some HMs (cadmium, lead and zinc) in urban soils of cities accross Bosnia and Herzegovina and look into phytoremediation potential of common urban tree species: horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) and planetree (Platanus × acerifolia (Aiton) Willd.). Results showed high phytoremediation potential of above mentioned tree species, which opens space for further research and introduction of this NBS for remediation of many severely polluted urban soils, drawing attention to better-understood urban sustainability and importance of application of phytoremediation as NBS on local level.

Key words: nature-based solutions, phytoremediation, urban soil, trees, heavy metals

How to cite: Hrkic Ilic, Z., Kapovic Solomun, M., and Sumatic, N.: Phytoremediation: Nature based solution for contaminated urban soils, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-828, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-828, 2020.

Modeling and evaluation of the effect of afforestation on the runoff generation within the Glinščica catchment (Slovenia)

Gregor Johnen¹, Klaudija Sapač², Simon Rusjan², Vesna Zupanc³, Andrej Vidmar², Nejc Bezak²

¹ Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science

² University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering

³ University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty

Abstract:

Increases in the frequency of flood events are one of the major risk factors induced by climate change that lead to a higher vulnerability of affected communities. Natural water retention measures such as afforestation on hillslopes and floodplains are increasingly discussed as cost-effective alternatives to hard engineering structures for providing flood regulation, particularly when the evaluation also considers beneficial ecosystem services other than flood regulation. The present study provides combined modelling approach and a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the impacts of afforestation on peak river flows and on selected ecosystem services within the Glinščica river catchment in Slovenia. In order to investigate the effects, the hydrological model HEC-HMS, the hydraulic model HEC-RAS and the flood damage model KRPAN, that was developed specifically for Slovenia, are used. It was found that increasing the amount of tree cover results in a flood peak reduction ranging from 9-13 %. Flood extensions were significantly lower for most scenarios leading to reduced economic losses. However, a 100-years CBA only showed positive net present values (NPV) for one of the considered scenarios and the benefits were dominated by the flood regulation benefits, which were higher than for example biodiversity or recreational benefits. Based on our findings we conclude that afforestation as a sole natural water retention measure (NWRM) provides a positive NPV only in some cases (i.e. scenarios) and if additional ecosystem co-benefits are considered.

How to cite: Johnen, G., Sapač, K., Rusjan, S., Zupanc, V., Vidmar, A., and Bezak, N.: Modeling and evaluation of the effect of afforestation on the runoff generation within the Glinščica catchment (Slovenia), EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-1283, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1283, 2020.

Land-use changes affect the properties of ecosystems, and are typically associated with decreasing ability to supply services, which in turn causes a decrease in the social well-being. Urbanization is identified as one of the main causes of ecosystem degradation, once it is considered an artificial space that replaces natural areas.This study investigates the impact of land-use changes during 20 years (1995-2015) on the potential supply of ecosystem services in Coimbra municipality, central Portugal. The assessment was based on the evaluation performed by 31 experts familiar with the study area, through questionnaires. The experts ranked the potential supply of 31 ecosystem services, grouped in regulation, provisioning and cultural services, for the several land-uses existent. Experts performed a qualitative evaluation, considering ‘strong adverse potential’, ‘weak adverse potential’, ‘not relevant’, ‘low positive potential’ and ‘strong positive potential’. The qualitative evaluation was converted into a quantitative classification (-2, -1, 0, 1, 2). Quantitative values were then used to develop an ecosystem services quantification matrix and to map the information in the study area, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). An urban expansion from 14% to 18% was recorded over the last 20 years. Agricultural land decreased 8% due to conversion into forest (4% increase) and urban areas (4% increase). This has led to a decrease in the supply of provision (e.g. food) and regulation services (e.g. flood regulation). In fact, over the last years, recurrent floods have been increasingly noticed in Coimbra city. On the other hand, the growth of forest areas has led to an increase in general ESs supply. The adverse impacts of urbanization were partially compensated by enlarging the benefits provided by forest areas, which is the land-use with greatest ESs potential supply. In order to support urban planning and develop sustainable cities, it is essential to quantify the potential supply of ecosystem services considering local scale and characteristics.

How to cite: Amorim Leitão, I., Santos Ferreira, C. S., and Dinis Ferreira, A. J.: The impact of two decades of land-use changes in potential ecosystem services supply in a Portuguese municipality - Coimbra, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-1291, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1291, 2020.

Shanghai is one of the demonstration sites of Sponge City which is a typical coastal saline-alkali area. To improve the urban resilience and mitigate storm water, green infrastructure as raingarden, bioswale and green roof, etc. are used to regulate runoff. However, the design of raingarden have the disadvantage of solutions for high groundwater levels and soil salinization in Shanghai. In order to improve the regional adaptability and optimize the design of the raingarden, the indoor rainfall simulation experiments and orthogonal experiments were used to analyze the effect of salt isolation and rain infiltration impacted by different structures (salt-insulated layer material, salt-insulated layer position, filler layer thickness). The results show that the order of influence on salt isolation is: salt-insulated material>filler layer thickness>salt-insulated layer position. The order of impact on rain infiltration is: salt-insulated material>salt-insulated layer location>filler layer thickness. Three types of rain garden structures are proposed. The first is strong salt-insulated rain garden suitable for severe saline-alkali areas. The second is suitable for the comprehensive rain garden in the moderate saline-alkali area. The third is suitable for the permeable rain garden in the light saline-alkali area.

How to cite: Yu, B., Che, S., and Wang, L.: Adaptive Structure Design of Raingarden in Shanghai Coastal Saline Alkali Area for Improving Urban Resilience, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-2115, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2115, 2020.

Agriculture land has been treated as the urban reserved land which has potential value for transformation. Especially for the land development strategy by “Developmental Government”, agriculture land’s value is twisted and encouraging trading activity, that result in lower production and short in food supply. The threats from extreme weather and environmental change has increased the potential hazards of landuse and challenges toward town planning. This study uses environmental diagnosis and field survey with in-depth interviews, along with the result from FLO-2D flood model and GIS overlay of hazard risk maps, to proceed with a case of “property-led development” in (Taiwan, Xinzhu) Zhubei city. The findings indicate that run-off volume of some area has changed and the flooding depth / area has increased. By interpreting the empirical results, it has exposed the environmental hazard issues and land commodification by the failure of urban planning policy in Zhubei city.

How to cite: Hung, C.-T., Lin, W.-Y., and Lin, S.-H.: Township Spatial Commodification and Environmental Spatial Disaster under the Threat of Climate Change: Flooding and Development of (Taiwan) Zhubei Urbanization, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-2423, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2423, 2020.

Understanding the relationships among multiple ecosystem services and their drivers is crucial for the sustainability of ecosystem services provision. Different ecosystem services were quantified using different models, and the relationships among ecosystem services and their drivers were analyzed using different statistical methods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. Our results showed that the spatially concordant supply of regulating services and cultural services decreased from northwest to southeast, whereas the delivery of provisioning services decreased from southeast to northwest in the region. The provisioning service was  antagonistic with both the regulating services and the cultural service, and the relationships among the regulating services and the cultural service were mostly synergistic. Different combinations of ecosystems provided seven types of ecosystem services bundles with different compositions and quantities of ecosystem services. Different drivers had different impacts on different ecosystem services. On the basis of  our findings, we suggested that the features of ecosystem service relationships and their drivers should be considered to ensure the efficiency of the  management of natural capital.

How to cite: Shen, J.: Exploring the relationships among ecosystem services and their drivers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3551, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3551, 2020.

Contradictions between population, economic development, land and ecological environment occur frequently in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, forming a complex problem of "population - land - social economy - ecological environment" at a regional level. This study considers seven indicators, including LUCC and three typical ecosystem services, to recognize the critical regions. Through continuous experiments and adjustments of parameters, we finally determine the building methods of overlaying in a equal power, and quantificationally evaluate the land use dynamic degrees, land use extents, diversity of land use types, ecological land use ratio, carbon sequestration service, soil conservation and water production services, integrated identify critical areas of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. We aim at realizing the coordinated sustainable development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as soon as possible, and providing the basis for land planning. The results show that the critical regions of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration are mainly distributed in the Yanshan and Taihang mountain regions and the surrounding towns. On the scale of county level, the first-level critical regions are mainly located in Beijing, Qinhuangdao and Chengde, and the second-level critical regions are mainly located in Chengde, Beijing, Qinhuangdao and Baoding.

How to cite: Liu, Y.: Critical Region Identification of Land Use/Land Cover based on typical ecosystem services - a case study of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3823, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3823, 2020.

As is known to everyone, the preservation of agricultural landscape plays a crucial role in productivity, sustainability and other ecosystem services of agricultural systems. In Taiwan, there was a disgraceful history between the sprawl of factories and farmland preservation. With the expansion of Cities’ boundaries, it formed a skyrocketing wave of urban sprawl at the fringe of urbanized area in the 1960s. It created a prevailing phenomenon in rural area in Taiwan called “ Non-Agricultural Use on Farmland “, which means landuse that violates against the current law, such as manufactories and houses. These human activities severely deteriorate the landscape and the quality of agricultural products in Taiwan. However, with the awareness of the importance of ecosystem services, people in Taiwan are no longer satisfied with nowadays policy-making process. They are asking to take ecosystem-value into consideration in policy formulation and spatial planning processes. Yet, current spatial planning policies rarely include the value of ecosystem services in the assessment process, which result in biases in policy evaluation and detract from the output of ecosystem services and human well-being.

Therefore, in order to incorporate the ecosystem service assessment into the process of spatial planning policy, this study will first evaluate the ecosystem services through the InVEST model and identify the spatial pattern of ecosystem services through spatial autocorrelation. In our research, we select four modules that is consider to be most relevant to the preservation of farmland landscape through literature review, which includes:  “Carbon Storage and Sequestration”, ”Habitat Quality”, ”Annual Water Yield”, ”Sediment Delivery Ratio”. Then, by modifying the spatial pattern of the ecosystem services into criteria settings, this thesis simulates the change of the overall ecosystem services and the hotspots in different scenarios of farmland control policies. In order to further assess the spatial relevance of farmland-factory management policies to ecosystem services, this study use spatial autocorrelation to assess the location of ecosystem services and to identify a reasonable and effective farmland management strategy.

Primitive analysis points out that the demolition of the farmland-factory will have positive effects on multiple ecosystem services. We verify several scenarios including the scenarios that consider the spatial pattern, take hot spots of selected ecosystem services modules into consideration, the other that consider “ growth management ” and still the one that consider ongoing governmental policies. However, the output of ecosystem services and spatial pattern are different due to the spatial structure of the research environment and the physical status. Some of the ecosystem services show obvious result that they are affected by the spatial structure or by physical environment, and there are still some results showing no significant difference. This paper try to demonstrate and provide information in the process of farmland-factory management policy. The findings of this article can be applied to policies that concerned of landscaping preservation planning and management, providing a GIS-based and Scenario-based method of ecosystem services assessment, which we hope to construct a harmonious policy framework for landscape preservation and industry expansion

How to cite: Chen, J. T. and Chang, H.-S.: Impact of local industry expansion on farmland ecosystem services: A case study of farmland-factories in Changhua County, Taiwan , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6588, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6588, 2020.

The changing urban system of resorts is characterized by a tendency towards a decrease in the volume of arborous phyto-resources of urban gardening involved in the environmental protection function of the environment, the appearance of pathogenic effects, the nature of which has not been sufficiently studied.

There have been considered some results of route landscape-climate monitoring in the southern region of the Caucasian Mineral Waters (the Russian Federation) by the methods adopted in balneology [1]. The subject of the study was the modules of the resort and recreational potential (RRP) in the experimental urbanized (open) and natural park areas (in the shade) at heights of 600, 800 and 1000 m above the sea level.

The obtained results indicate significant territorial differences in the values ​​of integral RRP in urbanized and natural areas. Differences between the extreme values ​​ranged from 0 to 2,55 points (out of 3 possible), that is from extremely unfavorable to comfortable conditions. Material analysis showed that in the “weight” ratio, the “pathogenicity” of microclimate of the urban systems had been formed due to differences in landscaping conditions at the experimental sites: by solar illumination (up to 100 lx), by total solar radiation (up to 600 W/m²), by the temperature of geological substate (up to 23-25​​°C), by relative air humidity on the Earth's surface (20%), by natural aeroanions (up to 420 ion/cm³), by the percentage of the minimum permissible level of anions (> 400 ion / cm³, up to 60%), by breathing ground-level aerosol pollution with a particle diameter of less than 1000 nm, penetrating to the alveoli (by 10-50%) when breathing, by terms of hypoxia (up to 10-20 g/m³ - 5-10%).

Conclusion: the obtained results indicate the dominant role of greening in the correction of microclimate modules and resort-recreational potential in urban mountain resorts. When developing urban planning standards for mountain resorts, it is necessary to provide a special type of urban landscaping aimed at reducing the area of stone coverings of buildings due to their vertical landscaping, increase in the “green shade” over urban pedestrians through the installation of "tent gardening" as well as bringing urban tree planting to 40-60% of the resort area.

References: 1.Resort study of Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region / Under the general edition of the prof. V.V. Uyba. Scientific publication. - Pyatigorsk. - 2011.– 368 p.

How to cite: Chalaya, E., Efimenko, N., Povolotskaya, N., Senik, I., and Slepykh, V.: Methodological approaches to assess the impact of landscaping on the microclimate of urban environment of southern mountain resorts, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-12739, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12739, 2020.

Surface water flooding is the most likely cause of flooding in London, still affecting at least 3% of the area and up to 680,000 properties. Urbanization and climate change are expected to increase the impacts of urban flooding in the near future. To mitigate such problem and provide resilient ecosystem services for Europe’s largest capital, Urban Green Infrastructure adaptations have been extensively used in the last two decades in conjunction with traditional grey infrastructure. Sustainability and efficiency of green infrastructure depend on the ability of plants to emulate the natural ecosystem water and carbon cycles in the city. Considering the expected rise in temperature, changes in rainfall patterns and intensification of the urban heat island effect, existing and planned green infrastructure solutions might be vulnerable to plant water stress. Since there will be much less space available to accommodate future changes in cities, it is extremely important to think about the system’s potential performance further ahead the construction. In this study we perform a detailed evaluation of representative London parks and rain gardens to mitigate flood risk under a changing climate. Specifically, we focus on the hydrological performance of urban raingardens (consisting exclusively of low stature plants) and urban parks (as a composite of low stature vegetation and urban forests) in London. The coupled water and carbon dynamics were evaluated using the ecohydrological model Tethys-Chloris (TeC) forced with the last generation climate change projections UKCP18. Based on our simulation we disentangle the composite effects of climate change, to plant physiological responses to elevated CO2 and changes in precipitation patterns and temperature.

Our results indicate that:

(a) Changes in weather severely affect plant efficiency during the 2^nd half of the 21^st century;

(b) Effectiveness of green infrastructure is strongly dependent on possible climate change outcomes;

(c) Within a certain range of plausible climate changes, for the 1^st half of the 21^st century positive effects of changes in climate can mostly counteract negative plant physiological responses to elevated CO2, but those negative effects gradually become dominant;

(d) Efficient and sustainable design of urban green infrastructure to mitigate flooding must consider an optimal adaptive choice of plants to offset the projected negative impacts of elevated CO2 and uncertain climate.

How to cite: Zhang, Z., Paschalis, A., and Mijic, A.: Modelling London’s Urban Green physiological responses and impacts on flood retention sustainability under climate change, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-8536, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-8536, 2020.

The discharge of inadequately treated sewage is still a worldwide problem that contributes to the deterioration of receiving water bodies. Especially in urban environments of less developed countries this threatens drinking water availability and, therefore, puts human health at risk and impedes sustainable urban development. Aerated treatment wetlands are innovative nature-based solutions that have been successfully applied in treating domestic, municipal and industrial effluents. The advantage of these technologies is their simplicity which translates into low operation and maintenance requirements and robust treatment. Aerated wetlands can be easily integrated into  decentralized water infrastructure to serve the demand of changing and fast-growing urban environments.

Aerated wetlands mimic natural processes to treat wastewater. Air is injected into these systems to provide an aerobic environment for increased aerobic biodegradation of pollutants. However, quantitative knowledge on how aeration governs oxygen transfer, organic matter and nitrogen removal within aerated wetlands is still insufficient.

In this study, we developed a reactive transport model for horizontal sub-surface flow aerated wetlands using the open-source multi-physics simulator OpenGeoSys. The model was calibrated and validated by pilot-scale experiments with real domestic sewage including steady-state operation and induced aeration failures. In both cases, the model achieved an acceptable degree of simulation accuracy. Furthermore, the experiments including short—term aeration failure showed that horizontal flow aerated wetlands can fully recover from such operational disruptions.

We then analyzed several simulation scenarios and found out that increasing aeration alters and shifts water quality gradients for organic carbon and nitrogen downstream. This can, for instance, be exploited to provide specific effluent qualities for different demands in an urban environment such as irrigation or groundwater recharge. We identified that the aeration rate required to provide an efficient and robust treatment efficacy for organic carbon and nitrogen of domestic wastewater is 150–200 L m² h¹. The developed model can be used by researchers and engineers to support the design of horizontal flow aerated wetlands in the context of applications in urban environments. Furthermore, our research highlights the suitability of horizontal flow aerated wetlands as a resilient treatment technology with potential application for water pollution control in urban environments.

How to cite: Boog, J., Kalbacher, T., Nivala, J., van Afferden, M., and Müller, R. A.: Reactive transport modeling of an innovative nature-based solution for domestic sewage treatment, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-22563, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-22563, 2020.

Recently, particularly invasive urbanization dynamics, resulted into a substantial increase in the urban impervious surface that forced the administrations to deal more frequently with the inability of the traditional drainage systems to manage stormwater in a sustainable and effective manner. Worldwide, integrated approaches, such as Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), whose basic principle is the management of rainwater at source through the implementation of prevention, mitigation and treatment strategies, are increasingly being developed.

The project aims to assess the benefits, in terms of reduction of floods, deriving from the widespread implementation of SuDS in an industrial area of about 300 ha in northern Italy and to analyse their behaviour under local climatic conditions. For this purpose, in absence of rain gauges in the case study area, analyses were carried out to obtain reliable and continuous rainfall data from all weather stations closest to the basin. Therefore, 10 years of rainfall data (2009-2018), recorded at 15 minutes timesteps from 10 station, have been acquired by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of the Lombardia Region and Inverse Distance Weighting has been used as a methodology of interpolation to obtain precipitation for the area of interest.

Critical precipitation scenarios, both annual and event scale, have been identified to evaluate the performance of SuDS during significant rainfall periods or events. For this reason, it was considered appropriate to extract from the complete dataset the year characterized by the maximum precipitation amount (1515.57 mm), the rain events with the maximum intensity in an hour (5.23 mm/h), with the maximum overall intensity (7.36 mm/h) and with the highest return period (5 years with a 6.87 mm/h intensity).

SWMM5 modelling allowed to compare the performance of the sewer system of the basin (overall 1148 nodes, 1141 pipelines for a total of 36 km of network) in a “traditional” scenario, without integrated strategies, and after the implementation of  green infrastructures (about 10% surface area and located in the basin in accordance with the current structure of the urban agglomeration).

The results, assessed in terms of reduction of different parameters such as runoff coefficient (on average 12% for the year and 39% for the event analysis), maximum flow in the pipelines (on average 3% and 31% respectively), maximum total inflow in the outfalls (on average 7% and 40% respectively) and node flooded (on average 23% and 57% respectively) following the implementation of SuDS, suggest in the first instance that these systems can give their contribution in the mitigation of the effects of flooding in urban areas. Indeed, analyses aimed at investigating punctually over time flow and volume in the outfalls conducted so far, brought about no extremely positive results and the performance of SuDS seems to be particularly challenged by severity of rainfall events.  As future aspects, this research strives to assess the performance of sustainable drainage systems under common rainfall scenarios and to establish, through an analysis of the climate change effects and the creation of rainfall data projections, the performance of these systems also over time.

How to cite: D'Ambrosio, R., Schmalz, B., and Longobardi, A.: Assessing the performance of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in urban context using SWMM5 modelling scenarios: the example of a typical industrial area in Lombardia Region, northern Italy, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21377, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21377, 2020.

It is expected that 80% of the world population will be living in urban areas by 2050, therefore more pressure on natural resources will be exacerbated if we continue with harmful human environmental practices, since pre-industrial era, intensifying the mayor environmental, social and economic challenges in cities. Scientific evidence shows the potential of Nature Based Solution to tackle environmental, societal and economic challenge related to urbanization, climate change, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in cities.

The research article analyses EU regulation and framework related to cities, environmental, economic, and aim to discuss the status quo of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) integration in urban planning Cities in H2020 Project, for better implementation policies on NBS at the city level, identifying gaps and potentials through a comprehensive mapping of the terrain on NBS policies in EU Cities, allowing for upscale and replication of those solutions in a form of a validated roadmap for sustainable cities across Europe and world-wide.

The main findings to shape the sustainability world of tomorrow of the research activities are as follow: to promote the inclusion of NBS in urban planning and decision making processes it was generally perceived that cities with more investment in research and innovation funding are more suitable for enabling cities to design and implement transition pathways to becoming inclusive, resilient, sustainable, low-carbon and resource efficient, to tackle most of the challenges Europe is facing today, such as climate change, health and well-being, loss of biodiversity of unsustainable urbanization.

 Therefore, cities will contribute to improve the environmental, social and economic dimension, providing the way towards a more resource efficient, competitive and green economy with the implemention of the NBS, that might be tackled in an integrated, coherent and holistic approach to enhance sustainability, resilience and quality of life for dwellers.

How to cite: Garcia Mateo, M. C.: Mainstream NBS in sustainable urban planning, strengthen the European Green Deal and EU recommendations, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20683, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20683, 2020.

Urban areas increasingly face challenges associated with dynamic interactions between human and nature systems, such as global (land-, water-use and climate) changes and their related environmental consequences. These challenges can be addressed by sustainable management of coupled human-nature systems that are being stablished and progressed in urban areas. In this context, nature-based solutions (NbSs), as cost-effective actions, are used to protect, sustain, and restore natural or engineered ecosystems for potentially increasing their services delivery to humans. Being inspired and supported by nature systems, NbSs provide human well-being and biodiversity benefits and address coupled environmental-social-economic challenges. This study develops an integrated understanding of human-nature interactions, by investigating wetland functions and their values in Stockholm region, a European densely populated urban area. Wetlands integrate natural and anthropogenic processes and help cities adapt to changes by enhancing their resilience to environmental and social challenges. In this study, a participatory approach has been applied for combining local and scientific knowledge to address the following questions: (i) What are the underlying system dynamics and interactions between urbanization and wetland regulating ecosystem services as coupled human-nature systems? and (ii) How do these dynamics affect synergies and trade-offs in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Therefore, relevant actors have been involved in thematic sector workshops and followed a systems thinking technique to co-create a causal loop diagram (CLD) as a conceptual system representation. The CLD highlights key components and drivers of the system, providing actor-specific perspectives of interactions and feedback structures within the system. Dynamic hypotheses on the effectiveness and roles of wetlands as NbSs in the study region have also been examined in a fuzzy cognitive map, developed as a semi-quantitative system representation. The results provide insights on wetland contributions to attaining SDGs in urban areas, as well as potential transition pathways toward sustainable development by identifying opportunities and barriers for the study region.

How to cite: Seifollahi-Aghmiuni, S., Kalantari, Z., and Santos Ferreira, C. S.: Nature-based Solutions to Mitigate Environmental Challenges: A Systems Thinking Approach for Integrated Understanding of Human-Nature Interactions, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4087, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4087, 2020.

A comprehensive understanding and modeling of socio-ecological systems can better assess the interactions between ecosystem amenities and human urban development. Based on the theory of supply-demand of ecosystem service, this paper constructs a comprehensive socio-ecological system modeling approach to identify ecosystem amenities’ roles in shaping human urban development and how the developments in turn affect ecosystem services. In our model, ecosystem services are regarded as both attractors and costs to human activities that cause urban land use changes. It adds to the existing ecosystem impact assessment approaches by integrating ecosystem services as both supply and demand in a socio-ecological process model with dynamic interaction and feedback between social and ecological systems. The approach couples socioeconomic, urban land use, and ecosystem interactions in a fine scaled (30×30 m) modeling framework with multiple time steps and feedback. Calibration through machine-learning techniques is applied to depict the joint driving forces from ecosystem amenities, socioeconomic attractors, and biophysical factors in influencing urban land use developments. Ecosystem Preservation District policy is tested as a policy scenario that aims to protect high-value ecosystem service areas while ensuring maximum ecosystem amenity provisions to urban inhabitants. Stockholm County, Sweden constitutes the study area with forecasts to 2040.

The analytical results will include: 1) calibrated functional forms and variable coefficients of ecosystem amenities that drive urban developments in comparison to other socioeconomic and biophysical variables; 2) assessment of ecosystem service value losses induced by human development; and 3) simulation of ecosystem service value preserved through Ecosystem Preservation District policy scenario. The analytical evidence provides further proof-of-concept of superior capability of using comprehensive socio-ecological models of understanding interactions between human and ecological systems. The policy scenario analysis offers supporting evidence for mitigating environmental impacts from urban growth through growth management policies. Finally, optimization of supply-demand of ecosystem services is critical in constituting the toolkit for nature-based solutions in urban planning and management.   

How to cite: Pan, H. and Page, J.: Ecosystem Amenities as Drivers for Urban Development and its Resulting Impacts: A Social-Ecological Modeling Approach for Stockholm, Sweden, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4216, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4216, 2020.

In order to meet the dual challenges of providing for a growing global population and mitigating climate change effects, it is necessary to consider how urban areas can grow while achieving carbon neutrality, which is a complex and difficult task. It requires increased understanding of carbon dynamics in the coupled urban social-ecological systems, including process-level understanding and distinction of natural and human-perturbed carbon exchanges and their interactions. A better understanding of these complex systems and processes could, for example, facilitate enhanced use of nature-based solutions (NBS) to help mitigate and offset the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of urban regions. This paper addresses part of this challenge, aiming to further understanding of the complex interactions between urban growth and GHG emissions implied by associated land use changes, including the influence of water bodies within the urban region on the carbon source-sink dynamics.

The study involves a comprehensive analysis of the land-use related GHG emissions and removals (through carbon sequestration) in the urban region of Stockholm County in Sweden, which is currently experiencing large urban growth and rapid population growth. Stockholm County includes large urban areas, forested areas (both old and young preserved natural forests and managed forestry), farmlands, some wetlands, and a number of smaller towns and semi-urban areas. Geographically, much of the county is located on the Stockholm Archipelago – a series of islands in the Baltic Sea – and the remainder is dominated by many lakes, including Lake Mälaren, which is Sweden’s third largest lake and the main water supply for the capital city Stockholm. The water coverage prevailing in the county allows for investigation of its effects in combination and relation to the variable and changing urban and other land cover distribution on the regional GHG emissions and sequestrations. These effects may be considerable and are addressed in this study.

Results include an inventory of existing and planned land uses in Stockholm County, and the GHG emissions or sequestration potentials associated with each of these. The land uses include urban and semi-urban areas, different types of natural and cultivated vegetation, agriculture, forestry, water bodies and wetlands. The study provides a map of Stockholm County’s GHG emission and sequestration potential, which is further analysed to advance our understanding of how future development in the county can be shaped to effectively minimize urban GHG emissions and maximize carbon sequestrations. The inclusion of water bodies in this GHG inventory proved to be particularly interesting; while lakes and other water bodies are often considered as ‘blue’ nature-based solutions (NBS) for maintaining and providing a number of ecosystem services in urban regions, our results indicate the lakes in Stockholm County as considerable sources of GHG emissions. The contribution of inland waters to the regional GHG emissions emphasizes the need and importance of improving rather than deteriorating the regional carbon sequestration potential in the urbanization process. This can be achieved by using and enhancing other types of NBS, such as rehabilitation of green areas like forests, in order to achieve carbon neutrality in this urban region.

How to cite: Page, J., Jonsson, E., Kalantari, Z., and Destouni, G.: Carbon Emissions and Sequestrations in Urban Landscapes and their Various and Changing Land and Water Covers , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4755, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4755, 2020.

Promoting greenness and naturalness has been the integral goal in nature-based solutions for urban environments. Design and building appreciated landscape for subjective public perception is a key factor in the success of promoting urban greenness and naturalness. The current measures of naturalness are siloed from public appreciation and acceptance of urban landscape designs. Our goal is to use state-of-art methods combining traditional design perception evaluation to embed naturalness with public landscape aesthetic perceptions evaluation system. A deep learning and eye-tracking based approach to understand public aesthetic perceptions of landscape street-view images is developed and applied to a case study of Shanghai. We use machine deep learning techniques to identify and assess landscape composition with landscape images and in-situ captured data to study the influence of naturalness of public perceptions of landscape based on a Bayesian network aesthetic evaluation model. The methodology extend the present landscape aesthetic evaluation framework and has the potential to be implemented to much wider applications. Our results indicate a co-conception of naturalness and public appreciation as a proof-of-concept of nature-based solutions.

Key words：Eye-tracking；Deep Learning；Naturalness；Public aesthetic perceptions；Bayesian network aesthetic evaluation

How to cite: Qiu, Y., Chen, Y., and Che, S.: Using Eye-tracking and Deep Learning Approach to Promote Naturalness in Urban Landscape , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6515, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6515, 2020.

Subjective perception of ecosystem services is an emerging topic to better understand nature-based solutions for human and natural sustainability. Survey-based methods for subjective perception has the difficulty to move their conclusions beyond site-specific applications. Potential data sources for subjective perception exist in many sources such as geo-tagged social media and street-view photos. In this paper, we develop a combined deep-learning, survey, and multi-source data big data approach to study and promote subjective ecosystem service perceptions beyond site-specific applications. Specifically, we use machine learning models trained to predict human perception from a large dataset of images to rate urban landscape photos from social media and street-view maps. The predictors include CNN-engineered photo features, geographic information, survey-based ratings as well as public ratings from social media and street-view maps. The method of this study can be applied to understand subjective perception of ecosystem services for a wide range of urban landscape site. The results contribute to a better understanding of connections between subjective perception and objective evaluation of ecosystem services value for urban landscape so that nature-based solutions can be better implemented for human well-being and sustainability.

Key Words: Deep learning; Multi-source big data; Subjective perception; Ecosystem services; Social media

How to cite: Chen, Y., Qiu, Y., and Che, S.: Combing deep learning and multi-source data to promote subjective perception of ecosystem services in urban landscape, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6516, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6516, 2020.

Abstract

Water pollution has long been considered a major problem causing environmental and public health issues. A range of contaminants are encountered in wastewater, industrial effluents and also road runoff, they include total suspended solids, nutrients, hydrocarbons and heavy metals. These latter have been found very toxic and hazardous, either for human health, or fauna and flora. In recent decades, studies have demonstrated a good removal efficiency of heavy metals by adsorption technique, and especially biosorption. Numerous biosorbents have been investigated, mainly lignocellulosic materials which have shown high adsorption capacity. Within this context, this study aims to investigate flax fibers capacity of zinc, copper and lead ions removal from aqueous solutions, in order to examine the best conditions to test a full-scale device designed to treat stormwater runoff. The choice of flax is related to its high availability, low cost and local economy reasons. The device consists of sand and layers of flax fibers geotextiles. It will be placed on a parking at the entrance of a retention basin in Le Havre. For this purpose, batch experiments were carried out with ternary and mono-metal solutions of zinc, copper and lead ions at room temperature with molar concentrations of 0.04 mmol.l^-1, at pH around 6.4. Biosorption kinetics and biosorption equilibrium were performed and analyzed. The results showed a favorable adsorption for the three metals in the order Pb > Cu > Zn for both types of solutions, with adsorption rates of 94%, 75% and 62% respectively in the ternary metal solution and 94%, 81% and 82% in the mono-metal solutions. The effect of competition was important for zinc, barely visible for copper, and non-existent for lead.

Keywords: Biosorption, heavy metals, pollutants, stormwater management systems.

How to cite: Kajeiou, M., Alem, A., Pantet, A., Mezghich, S., and Ahfir, N.-D.: Heavy metals removal by flax fibers to a further use in urban runoff management systems, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-9115, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9115, 2020.

Due to the overall growth of the world population and to the progressive shift from rural to urban centres, 70% of the world population is expected to live in urban areas in 2050. This trend is alarming when related to the constant decline of urban air quality at the global level. To cope with this rapid urbanization, solutions for sustainable cities are extensively sought. In this framework, the mitigation of air pollution in street canyons plays a crucial role. The street canyon (a street flanked by high buildings on both sides) is the fundamental unit of the urban tissue, as well as a vital public and residential space. Street canyons are particularly vulnerable to air pollution due to traffic emissions, low ventilation conditions, and the number of citizens exposed. Tree planting in street canyons is often used as a pollution mitigation strategy, due to the filtering effect of vegetation on airborne pollutants. However, from the aerodynamic point of view, trees can obstruct the wind flow thus reducing canyon ventilation and leading to higher pollutant concentrations. In this framework, we present the results of an experimental study aimed at evaluating how tree planting influences the flow and concentration fields within a street canyon. The study was carried out in a recirculating wind tunnel. An idealised urban district was simulated by an array of square blocks, whose orientation with respect to the incident wind was varied. Within this urban geometry, two rows of model trees were arranged at the sides of a street canyon. Three configurations with different spacing between the trees were considered. A passive scalar was injected from a line source placed at ground level to simulate traffic emissions. Concentration and flow field measurements were performed in several cross-sections of the street canyon. Results showed the effect of trees on the spatial distribution of pollutants. Moreover, a characteristic exchange velocity between the street canyon and the overlying atmosphere was estimated to quantify the overall canyon ventilation under several wind directions and different planting densities. These preliminary results provide city planners with first recommendations for the sustainable design of urban environments. Moreover, the experimental dataset is valuable in validating numerical simulations of air pollution in cities accounting for urban vegetation.

How to cite: Fellini, S., De Giovanni, A., Marro, M., Ridolfi, L., and Salizzoni, P.: Effect of trees on street canyon ventilation, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10661, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10661, 2020.

We are developing a biogeochemical model for microbial denitrification-driven ground improvement to account for t the complexities expected in the field, including microbial inhibition and competition. We will use this model to support Microbially Induced Desaturation and Precipitation (MIDP) via denitrification as a bio-based ground improvement strategy alternative considering different treatment recipes and natural groundwater composition. Current ground improvement techniques have limited utility underneath or near existing structures. Developing alternatives is becoming increasingly important as urbanization increases. Large, centralized populations and infrastructure are more vulnerable to threats by natural disasters and geologic hazards such as earthquake-induced liquefaction and flooding. Bio-based ground stabilization techniques may be less disruptive to deploy and monitor, allowing application underneath existing structures. MIDP is a two-stage ground-improvement process in which biogenic gas desaturation provides immediate improvement while calcium carbonate precipitation provides long term stability. MIDP influences the geochemical environment and the hydro-mechanical behavior of soils through biogenic gas production, precipitation of calcium carbonate, and biomass growth. All three components alter the biogeochemical environment and subsurface permeability, thereby affecting the transport of substrates and subsequent product formation. The products of MIDP mitigate liquefaction at the lab-scale. MIDP experimentation and modeling have primarily considered only the use of de-ionized water and simplified water composition. However, denitrifying microorganisms compete with alternative electron acceptors, like sulfate and iron, and are influenced by the environment’s pH and salinity which may impede the MIDP treatment. Our biogeochemical model can predict the products and by-products of MIDP treatment considering realistic groundwater conditions. The results of this model will be used to develop comprehensive treatment plans for upcoming field trials to demonstrate treatment effectiveness and develop best practices for future application.

How to cite: Hall, C., Rittmann, B., van Paassen, L., and Kavazanjian, E.: Out of the Lab, Into the Frying Pan: Understanding the Effect of Natural Groundwater Conditions on Bio-Based Ground Improvement Strategies, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11378, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11378, 2020.

In the context of accelerated urbanization, ecological and agricultural lands are continuously sacrificed for urban construction, which may severely affect the urban ecological environment and the health of citizens in cities in the long-term. To explore the sustainable development of cities, it is of considerable significance to study the complex and non-linear coupling relationship between urban expansion and the ecological environment. Different from static quantitative analysis, this paper will establish a spatial dynamic modeling approach couples the urban land-use change and ecosystem services. The spatial dynamic modeling approach combines a network-based analysis method with accurate environmental assessments, which includes a causal change mechanism that simplifies the complex interaction between the urban system and the surrounding environment. Because the model can use a pre-determined cell transformation rules to simulate the conversion probability of land cells at a specific point in time, it provides the opportunity to test the impact of changes in different policy scenarios. In the phase of the environmental impact assessment, the change probability will be converted into an environmental impact based on the calculation of the ecosystem services values under different development scenarios. Taking Nanjing, a rapidly developing city in China as an example, this paper will set up a variety of sustainable development policy scenarios based on the feedback relationship of local land use driving factors. We will test and evaluate the “what-if” consequences through a comparative study to help design the optimal environmental regulation scheme. Planning and decision support will be made to further guide the rational allocation of land use parcel and land development intensity towards a sustainable development future. As a result, this study can support policy decision makings on urban land-use planning and achieve ecological and agricultural land preservation strategies.

How to cite: Cai, Z., Chen, S., and Cvetkovic, V.: Spatial Dynamic Modeling of Ecological and Agricultural Land Preservation Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development in Nanjing, China , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-17174, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17174, 2020.

Ecosystems can store significant amounts of carbon dioxide and are therefore often considered as nature-based solutions to combat climate change. However, anthropogenic perturbations can turn these natural sinks to substantial sources for greenhouse gases. The climate impact of land use and land use change is well recognized on national and international level. Yet, municipalities which implement concrete measures on the ground, lack a tool to quantify the climate effect of their land use decisions.

Using the German city of Rostock (200.000 inhabitants) as an example, we present an approach to evaluate the climate effect of different land use trajectories in urban areas. The approach makes uses of municipal land use maps and complies with the IPCC inventory guidelines. Based on this emission assessment we can provide generic recommendations to exploit nature-based solutions for climate protection in municipal land policy.

How to cite: Koebsch, F., Huth, U., and Kahle, P.: The climate impact of municipal land policy, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18356, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18356, 2020.

The influence of vegetation on the hydro-geomorphological response is widely recognized, and root reinforcement mechanisms are an important component of slope stability models. The calculation of this essential information is very complex because of the multiple interactions in the root-soil system, but also because of several mechanical characteristics that influence the tension and compression behaviour of the root itself.

This contribution has two aims. The first one is to show parameters of root reinforcement effects of Robinia pseudoacacia (L.), a tree commonly used for the mitigation of rainfall-induced landslides at small scale. This species is very widespread because it is able to grow on marginal areas, such as abandoned hillside sites, or on infrastructures, such as road and railway scarps, but its characterization represents a gap in knowledge in the literature. Field pullout tests were performed to collect input data for the quantification of root reinforcement using the Root Bundle Model with Weibull survival function (RBMw, Schwarz et al, 2013). Recent studies have shown how the RBMw is a very efficient model for the evaluation of root reinforcement by considering the heterogeneity of both root mechanical characteristics and their distribution in the soil. However, due to the model complexity and the need for information difficult to obtain, other simpler but less accurate approaches, such as the Wu model, have been preferred. 

For this reason, the second aim of the work is to present a new tool written in C++, and called RBM++, easy to use that enables anyone, from Universities to private companies, to quantify the effect of roots on slope stability. RBM++ allows the calculation of root reinforcement using two different methods: the first one by entering own data of the mechanical parameters of the roots, estimated beforehand with pullout tests in the field, and the root distribution in the soil; the second one by selecting the tree species and the data related to the spatial root distribution. For the first method, it is necessary to use a pullout machine to obtain the data. Because this instrument is not commonly available the model has the option to use default parameters for nine tree species based on values found in the literature. 

Output from RBM++ comes in tabular format and with a plot that shows, via the graphical user interface, the spatial distribution of forces as a function of the distance from the tree trunk and size of the tree.   

RBM++ makes it easier to share and exchange knowledge related to root reinforcement. Therefore, it will allow the realization of a database containing standard data on root mechanical behavior of tree species commonly used for shallow landslide mitigation.

How to cite: Murgia, I., Cohen, D., Giadrossich, F., Capra, G. F., and Schwarz, M.: A new tool to accurately calculate root reinforcement: the Root Bundle Model software RBM++, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20297, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20297, 2020.