The water needs of urban green areas

Abstract

The aim of the research was to evaluate the irrigation needs of urban green spaces in terms of automatic irrigation system. For this purpose, four research stations: two on the surface of shrubs and two on the lawn were founded. The analysis included two vegetation seasons in 2009 and 2010. To estimate the water requirements of the analyzed surfaces a method based on water balance was used. After comparison of simulation result with instrumental results, difference between soil water reserves was calculated. Normalized mean square error (NRMSE) for the post of ornamental shrubs during the vegetation season in 2009 was 0.80, and 2.76% for the lawn. However, in the same period in 2010, it was 0.21% for ornamental shrubs and 1.54% for the lawn. The assessment of the irrigation system for the whole operating period was based on indicators of effectiveness and efficiency of irrigation. The performance indicator of irrigation ranged from 83 to 100%, while the rate of irrigation efficiency from 87 to 100%. To assess the relationship between the components of the water balance multiple linear regression model was used. The analysis takes into account the impact of the many independent features on selected dependent feature. For this purpose the impact of temperature, humidity, initial retention in a balance layer, irrigation doses and natural precipitation on the water supply in the soil profiles was analyzed. As a result of the analyzes the size of a single dose of irrigation, in order to maintain a certain level of humidity for different surfaces of urban green areas, can be determined.