INFLUENCE OF TREES, GREEN IN OPEN SPACE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AKURE, A CASE STUDY

Abstract

The influence of trees and greens and the microclimate on man is of great importance on thermal comfort, therefore, the study was conducted to evaluates the influence of Trees, Greens in Open Spaces on Environmental Quality, assess the relative abundance of organism and their diversity within the study location, staff and students perception of the University microclimate. The study was conducted within the campus of the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Coordinates of the nine different study sites were obtained with the aid of a global positioning system (GPS). The effect of trees, greens in open spaces on meteorological variables such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, radiation and light intensity were measured at the selected study sites on synoptic hours (0900,1200, 1500 and 1800) bases for a measurement comparing using AVM digital anemometer and fabricated dry and wet bulb thermometer. The sensors were calibrated. The experiment was carried out during wet season (August) and dry season (January). A well structured questionnaires were administered using the snow ball techniques to obtain the assessment of staff and students of the University on the impact of greening; total microbial population and type of organism in the soil of the study sites were also evaluated. The result showed that over the years FUTA had recorded significant changes in all phases of land use, built up areas has increased from about 3.81% in 1986 to 8.42%in 2002, leading to rise in land surface temperature as a result of more buildings and tarred surface areas resulting in change in the microclimate of the environment. Meteorological variables data collected showed that areas with trees tends to be cooler during synoptic hours (1200(noon) and 1500(afternoon) hours) of the day.