چکیده:
Green space is one of the important infrastructures for keeping natural life and sustainability in modern urbanism and it provides excellent recreational opportunities for the people in the society. However, there are limiting factors in green space development, especially in arid regions, including extreme weather and soil temperatures, low average rainfall, drought, and high potential for evapotranspiration. Therefore, sustainable green space development, especially in these regions, should seek strategies and landscape materials to tackle these limitations. Some green space materials, which have been argued to address such limitations, are mulches; but still potentials of these materials in urban green space development have not been well discussed. This study reviewed scientific literature in order to discuss how non-living mulches and cover plants as living mulches can assist in the development of green spaces in arid regions. It aimed to introduce mulches and cover plants and compare their environmental, ecological, functional, and aesthetic potentials. According to the results, cover plants and non-living mulches can maintain visual aesthetics while they can also have environmental benefits, such as reducing water consumption, weeds and soil erosion as well as adjusting soil moisture and temperature in urban green spaces. High diversity of cover plants is one of the most important and practical features for green space development. This paper also identified that, despite significant benefits listed for using these materials in urban green space, their application in green space design and construction of many countries, such as Iran, is still less considered.
خلاصه ماشینی:
"According to the results, cover plants and non-living mulches can maintain visual aesthetics while they can also have environmental benefits, such as reducing water consumption, weeds and soil erosion as well as adjusting soil moisture and temperature in urban green spaces.
Low maintenance of cover plants and non-living mulches facilitate their usage and help in creating diversity in green space development (Bowker and Edinger, 1989).
Having this major goal in mind, this study aimed to review the role of cover plants and organic and inorganic mulches as relatively newly introduced materials in urban green space development.
3. Moderating soil temperature A variety of organic and inorganic mulches can assist in balancing temperature in root zone of the plants in green spaces (Bowker and Edinger, 1989; Singer and Martin, 2008; Brown, 1996; Stinson et al.
In contrast, using an organic mulch of ponderosa pine residue (PPR) and shredded non-composted landscape tree trimmings in green spaces averagely decreased soil temperature to 13-22 °C, compared to a soil covered with screened decomposing granite.
Appropriate mulches and cover plants have outstanding environmental features, such as erosion control, ability to deal with weeds, and moderating soil temperature and moisture and oxygen as well as outstanding visual and aesthetic characteristics by bringing a large variety of textures and colors to urban green spaces.
Studying the effects of mulch type and its thickness on soil temperature, moisture and growth characteristics of several plants used in urban green spaces."