Tree canopy coverage and heat maps – Langhorne Creek

The canopy cover and radiant temperature visualisation maps for Langhorne Creek are shown below:

Aerial imagery showing Langhorne Creek’s canopy coverage on the left, and the heat map of the township (radiant temperature visualisation) on the right. Data was captured on 27 January 2022. © Active Green Services

In 2022, Council commissioned a study to establish a benchmark of tree canopy cover and radiant temperature visualisation (‘heat maps’) across 11 townships in Alexandrina. The study assessed high-resolution satellite imagery using artificial intelligence. Thermal imaging (infrared) was also acquired and correlated to the canopy layer by linking the data geospatially via an ESRI© application.

The overall canopy cover averaged 17.6% across Alexandrina’s 11 townships; ranging from 11.7% to 49.3%.

The study showed that in January 2022, Langhorne Creek had a tree canopy cover of 19.9%.

The results for Langhorne Creek are as follows:

Tree canopy cover across Langhorne Creek

The township area measured in Langhorne Creek is 85.49 hectares (ha), with 17.2ha being the total canopy area. This equates to 19.9% total canopy coverage in Langhorne Creek.

Tree canopy cover on private land

Most of the land on Langhorne Creek is privately owned: 71.43ha of the township total area is private land, with 13.29ha of this contributing to the total canopy area. This means that 78.09% of the total canopy cover is found on private land.

Tree canopy cover on Council land

21.91% of the total canopy cover is on Council land: 14.06ha of the township total area is under Council’s care and control, with 3.73ha contributing to the total canopy area.

Radiant temperature of Langhorne Creek

The radiant temperature visualisation (‘heat map’) undertaken for Langhorne Creek (see above) clearly shows the cooling effect that tree canopies provide.

The hottest areas are found in paddocks as relative radiant temperature of open parks and fields can be high compared to treed areas. The sports oval in Langhorne Creek also provided cooling as it was watered and hence green, providing evaporative cooling. A similar effect can be seen with the vineyards.

It is important to note is that radiant temperatures are not air temperatures. Satellite sensing is typically done at night. Radiant heat is measured as infrared spectral intensity and expressed as temperature mathematically, through prior research using controlled experiments correlating the influence of surface temperatures on perception of heat by a collective of people.

To go back to the main page of the Tree Canopy Report and links to other townships, click here.