Which Plants Work Best to Keep Cities Cool? - University of Toronto Magazine
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John English in a wide-brimmed hat, operating an aerial drone over an open field bordered by trees
Photo by Don Campbell

Which Plants Work Best to Keep Cities Cool?

U of T Scarborough researchers are using thermal cameras, drones and AI to learn more about how urban parks affect the climate Read More

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Urban green spaces offer a much-needed oasis, especially in warm city air.

But are some types of vegetation better at keeping these spaces cool? Which ones best attract pollinators such as bees and flies, and encourage native plants to grow?

These are among the questions a team of U of T Scarborough biologists wants to answer through a large, multifaceted research project in the nearby Rouge National Urban Park.

“A lot of climate change models rely on data from weather stations, but this completely ignores microclimates,” says John English, a PhD student in Prof. Scott MacIvor’s lab who is leading part of the project. “The temperature in urban green spaces such as parks can differ quite a bit from surrounding areas covered in parking lots or buildings.”

The team, which includes 12 undergraduate students, monitored 15 locations during the summer using ground temperature sensors, camouflaged cameras that can take photos of pollinators as they land on flowers, and aerial drones equipped with thermal cameras.

For another part of the project, researchers are giving drone photos to a computer algorithm to track the presence of dog-strangling vine, an invasive plant. They hope to develop a system that can track invasive plant species more effectively, so conservation authorities can remove them quickly.

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Bug's eye view of Jerremy Godwin using a soil auger to drop soil samples into a bag held open by Michael Homsi
Jerremy Godwin (left) and Michael Homsi (right) use soil augers to collect samples from various sites in the Rouge National Urban Park. The physical and chemical properties of the soil will be analyzed in the lab to help researchers better understand how certain plants influence the below-ground environment. All photos by Don Campbell
John English in a wide-brimmed hat, operating an aerial drone over an open field bordered by trees
John English, a PhD student in Prof. Scott MacIvor's lab who is leading part of the research project, uses a drone equipped with a thermal camera to measure temperatures directly below.
A pair of hands holding a drone remote with a monitor displaying thermal data in different colours
The drone feeds data to this remote. The dirt path is warmer (yellow and orange) than the trees and plants (blue and purple). The researchers are interested in knowing which plants help keep the surrounding landscape cool.
A student researcher examines a pollinator captured in a bug vacuum
Undergraduate researchers use specialized bug vacuums to identify which pollinators land on native flower species at sites across the Rouge National Urban Park. This allows them to track which types of plants attract certain pollinators, such as bees, wasps and flies.
Bug's eye view of a researcher grabbing a plastic cup containing a square sensor, hanging from a wooden stick in a field of shrubs
Celine Chao checks on a thermal sensor at a site in Pickering, Ontario. The sensors take temperature recordings at various times of the day, allowing the researchers to collect micro-climate data more reliably.
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About The Author

Author image: Don Campbell

Don Campbell

Senior Writer and Editor, U of T Scarborough

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  1. No Responses to “ Which Plants Work Best to Keep Cities Cool? ”

  2. Shawna Macivor says:

    I'm very glad to read about this! I'm a U of T alum (from 1973 and 1975). I'm retired now and spending much of my volunteer time with a group in Owen Sound, Ontario, called "NeighbourWoods North." We are advocating for -- and planting -- trees and native shrubs and other pollinators on public grounds, where we can get permission.

    Our first project (and biggest to date) was on the hospital grounds. What was once acres and acres of mown grass is now thousands of trees. We are also working with Grey County to transform the lawn at their headquarters, and have just begun working with the Georgian Bluffs township to do something similar around their administration building.

    Good luck with your project! We hope to see the results of your research on urban parks in public venues soon.

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