Tree canopy coverage and heat maps – Woodchester

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

Aerial imagery showing Woodchester’s canopy coverage on the left, and the heat map of the township (radiant temperature visualisation) on the right. Data was captured on 25 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, Woodchester had a tree canopy cover of 13.1%.

The results for Woodchester are as follows:

Tree canopy cover across Woodchester

The township total area of Woodchester is 104.5 hectares (ha), with 13.71ha identified as the total canopy area. This equates to 13.1% total canopy coverage in Woodchester.

Tree canopy cover on private land

Most of the land in Woodchester is privately owned: 97.69ha of the township total area is private land, with 12.95ha of this contributing to the total canopy area. This means that 94.43% of the total canopy cover is found on private land.

Tree canopy cover on Council land

5.57% of the total canopy cover is on Council land: 6.81ha of the township total area is under Council’s care and control, with 0.76ha contributing to the total canopy area.

Radiant temperature of Woodchester

The radiant temperature visualisation (‘heat map’) undertaken for Woodchester (see above) clearly shows the cooling effect that tree canopies and open water bodies, like Rodwell Creek, provide.

The hottest areas are found in paddocks as relative radiant temperature of open parks and fields can be high compared to treed areas.

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.