Campus Landscape design based on resilience approach and water shortage(case study: Campus of Malayer University)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Academic Member of Landscape Engineering Department, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Malayer University

2 Assistant Professor of Environmental Design, Facultyof Environment, University of Tehran

Abstract

 
Introduction:
Water shortage is a crucial challenge that threatens future of landscape development in Iran. Naturally it intensifies by climate change that will be led to water stress of ecosystems. The water stress have confronted universities campus landscape with serious challenges especially those that located in arid and semi-arid areas such as center of Iran. Malayer University has had serious challenges due to water shortage in green space development in spite of fast growth. Local adaptation and mitigation actions have a high priority in dry context.
 Successful adaptation and mitigation need to increase ecological resilience and provide appropriate water resources without threaten the other places and species to meet their needs. Adoption strategies emphasis on ecological resilience and mitigation strategy stress on not only improvement of ecological function against climate change but also reduction the intensifying climate change factors such as greenhouse gases(GHG). Thus ecological resilience improvement will assist the continuum of ecosystems functions and will support mitigation movements. Therefore it is an essential and vital role of planning to cope with wicked problems due to climate changes.
 Climate change has faced our society with complex problems simultaneously increasing uncertainty. Resilience is an ideal option in access to cope uncertainty that try to recover systems from disruption. As Friend &Moench(2013) pointed the goals of develop is resilience or “an aspect of what development is”. But resilience here defined as ability of absorb shocks and increasing system ability to cope with challenges and conserve the system integrity and sustainably, although may it pass from one situation to new once. It does not mean as bouncing back the system. The emphasis is on sustainability continuum of ecological structure and functions. Although system could be experience some changes.
Iran has experienced great dryness challenges. Thereupon water shortage change into an ongoing threat of a dry country and it is a sign of wide spread crises through the country in near future. Malayer University that founded in 2005 has been developed rapidly. It tackled with water limitations for all kind of uses. Water limitation is a main obstacle in green landscape design of university campus too. The article tried to review resilience concept in water shortage conditions and present solutions for water deficit by rain harvest and reuse of gray water in campus landscape design from one side and increase water use efficiency by wise and ecological planting and reduce the water needs by selection of planet species with low water requirement from another side.
 
Method and materials:
University of Malayer located at county as same name (Malayer) and in North West of Hamadan province. The area has a semi dry climate. The area receives about 300 mm rain annually in average. The average of minimum temperature is -4 and the average of maximum temperature is 34.7 degree of centigrade. Total area of campus is about 55 hectare that has been built in 2005.Total built area is about 46000 square meters up to now. Slope of campus fluctuate between 3 to 7 percent. 70 percent of 55 hectares is in cult. Soil tests indicated the presence of clay soils in combination with organic materials. The soil salinity is low and without restrictions. The existing vegetation cover can be divided into two categories:
1-Herbaceousspecies, mainly in under developed parts of campus, Characteristics of those species are: wild plant, seasonal growth and short growing period. Plants are drying by beginning of warm season and increase water stress. These plants include species such as: Peganumharmala, Achilleamillefolium, Descurainia Sophia, Gundeliatournefortii and Fritillaria sp.
2-plantingtrees and shrubs that include limit species such as: black pine, cedar and cypress, sycamore, mulberry, willow usual, walnuts, grapes, Cotoneasternummularia, Crataegusaronia, differenttypes of roses, lavender, Rosemary.
The main problems of campus green space are: Planting sensitive vegetable to drought, water resources shortage and low efficiency in water irrigation systems.
This research has been done based on ecological design principles that expressed by Van der Ryn and Cowan in 1996. The study tries to use the ecological resilience based on global warming trend and water shortage in order to design more effective green landscape.
Result and discussion:
This section includes four steps:
1-      Analyses of water resources in campus
2-      Analyses of water irrigation efficiency
3-      Analyses of plane species resilience against water shortage, ecological diversity and diversity in ecological functions.
The result shows area could store about 19000 cubic meters water from rain annually. This volume is enough to irrigation of green space during the year. Moreover harvest runoff is possible from pedestrians and streets. We could access to 90000 cubic meters water by construction of primary waste water treatment systems.
In addition change of traditional irrigation system is necessary that will increase irrigation efficiency. Meanwhile mulching can reduce surface evaporation and decrease water needs. Main and dominant plant species flexibility has been analyzed based on Hunter Model (2008). As a result vulnerable species identified, from anther hand new and native species was chose. The native species were selected that have following characteristics: Resistance against water stress, adopted by ecosystem conditions, diversity in ecological function, quality of growth and reproductive and less water requirement. Finally campus landscape has been design based on rain harvest and reuse of gray water (Fig. 1).
 
Fig. 1.Strategic design of campus green space based onrain harvest and reuse of gray water
 
Conclusion;
Landscape design is an alternative and additional tool for climate change and global warming. Landscape design could apply ecological principles in order to cope with climate change threats especially in dry regions. Campus landscapes of Malayer as sample chose to examine ability of ecological design. The result showed, green space of campus could be developed by utilize of potential water resources. Campus landscape could be improved by wise selection of planning species. The species should be resistance against water stress and climate changes. As result ecosystem service will be improved by wise develop of campus landscape through ecological design principles. Is this experiment applicable in more complicated places such as urban landscape? Simultaneously other approaches such as carbon sequestration are applicable? These two questions are new subjects for further practical research especially in the arid areas that faced with climate changes threats.

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Main Subjects

References

 
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Journal of Environmental Studies
Volume 40, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
January 2015
Pages 1051-1066

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