Reevaluating how tree canopy cools the air and surfaces in cities at very high resolution

Reevaluating how tree canopy cools the air and surfaces in cities at very high resolution | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Reevaluating how tree canopy cools the air and surfaces in cities at very high resolution Michael Alonzo, Matthew Baker, Ali Amini This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6014846/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Trees mitigate urban heat, but the extent of cooling, particularly for air temperature, remains uncertain. Many studies report strong cooling using satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST), but this metric overestimates the cooling relevant to human health and comfort. Additionally, such studies often rely on single-variable, canopy-only models and moderate resolution data that has not been validated in densely built-up areas. These data and modeling issues may further inflate estimates of tree cooling efficiency. Using >675,000 mobile air temperature observations from 11 Northeastern U.S. cities, we found that tree-induced air cooling was significantly lower than LST cooling. Cooling efficiency was highest in areas with substantial existing canopy, challenging recent reports of strong cooling in low-canopy areas. Impervious surface cover and water bodies controlled local surface and air temperatures as much or more than vegetation. These findings highlight the importance of high-quality data and multipronged urban heat mitigation strategies, integrating clustered tree planting, impervious surface removal, and other complementary measures. Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Urban ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files UrbHeatsupplementaryv3.pdf Supplementary Information: Reevaluating how tree canopy cools the air and surfaces in cities at very high resolution Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6014846","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":421628941,"identity":"83e77716-f22e-40d1-a976-e4ec77b2da5b","order_by":0,"name":"Michael Alonzo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA10lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdjBpAyYPQIQSCGhhBpNppGs5jCxEQAt/M/Oxhz8qzsvrtvc+PPCj5g4DP3uOAV4tEofZ0g0kztw23HbmuMHBnmPPGCR73uDXwnCYx0zCsO0247YbaUDnsR1mMLhBwBZ5kJbEtnP22+4/A2r5d5jBnpAWA5CWg20HErfdYGM4zNgGtEWCgBbDw2xpkg1nkpO3nUljONjbd5hH4syzArxa5I43H5P8UWFnu+34MeYPP74dluNvT96AVwsG4CFN+SgYBaNgFIwCrAAA3XVJYDkuy6MAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9409-2740","institution":"American University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"","lastName":"Alonzo","suffix":""},{"id":421628942,"identity":"839a4167-8f96-4595-90c5-98049a4e72f7","order_by":1,"name":"Matthew Baker","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Maryland, Baltimore County","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Matthew","middleName":"","lastName":"Baker","suffix":""},{"id":421628943,"identity":"d6637b6e-1c52-4448-8ea8-8fc464becee2","order_by":2,"name":"Ali Amini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"American University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ali","middleName":"","lastName":"Amini","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-02-12 11:41:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6014846/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6014846/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83202819,"identity":"c3084f6e-ac70-4643-b85c-944ac9f03b5b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-21 06:44:00","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":812626,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"UrbanHeatNatCitiesv2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6014846/v1_covered_e8001d41-d096-4121-a6aa-02ce134c8229.pdf"},{"id":79272270,"identity":"ee05410c-2ddc-499a-8f77-bf9ea92a85cb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-26 11:27:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1233360,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Information: Reevaluating how tree canopy cools the air and surfaces in cities at very high resolution","description":"","filename":"UrbHeatsupplementaryv3.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6014846/v1/b3ec18c05d8dda0008a308b9.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Reevaluating how tree canopy cools the air and surfaces in cities at very high resolution","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6014846/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6014846/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Trees mitigate urban heat, but the extent of cooling, particularly for air temperature, remains uncertain. Many studies report strong cooling using satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST), but this metric overestimates the cooling relevant to human health and comfort. Additionally, such studies often rely on single-variable, canopy-only models and moderate resolution data that has not been validated in densely built-up areas. These data and modeling issues may further inflate estimates of tree cooling efficiency. Using \u003e675,000 mobile air temperature observations from 11 Northeastern U.S. cities, we found that tree-induced air cooling was significantly lower than LST cooling. Cooling efficiency was highest in areas with substantial existing canopy, challenging recent reports of strong cooling in low-canopy areas. Impervious surface cover and water bodies controlled local surface and air temperatures as much or more than vegetation. 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