Quantifying the stormwater management benefits of urban forests under various climate change scenarios in a Vancouver sub-catchment

The trees and plants also called urban forest in our cities help to absorb and evaporate rainwater. Since cities have a lot of surfaces that are impermeable, rainwater cannot infiltrate the soil and has to be moved away through pipe systems, carrying the pollution it collects on the surface. The urban forest is an important because it helps clean the water thought roots systems, and reduces the quantity of water that, during big storms, can fill water pipes and overflow. This research project will calculate how much water the urban forest diverts from our stormwater pipes in a Vancouver sub-catchment. It will also consider how the urban forest should be managed to account for climate change, which we expect will increase the rainfall in certain times of the year

Faculty Supervisor:

Jordi Honey-Roses

Student:

Camille Lefrancois

Partner:

Diamond Head Consulting

Discipline:

Urban studies

Sector:

Natural resources

University:

University of British Columbia