TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Field study on thermal comfort in a UK primary school

This paper presents findings from a field survey in a naturally ventilated primary school building in Southampton, UK. The study included thermal comfort surveys and simultaneous measurements of indoor environmental variables. Approximately 230 pupils aged 7-11 in all 8 classrooms of the school were surveyed in repeated survey runs outside the heating season, from April to July 2011. In total 1314 responses were gathered. The survey involved questions on the thermal sensation and preference of the pupils. This paper investigates the children’s thermal sensation trends, their perception of overall comfort and tiredness. Furthermore, it compares the survey results to predictions achieved with current adult-based comfort standards, namely ISO 7730 and EN 15251. The results suggest that children have a different thermal perception than adults. Possible explanations are discussed in relation to the particularities and specific character of school environments

Investigating the principal adaptive comfort relationships for young children

Thermal comfort surveys in school classrooms suggest that children have different thermal preferences to adults. This implies a need to revisit the current adult-based thermal comfort models. This paper investigates the principal adaptive comfort relationships that form the basis of adaptive comfort theory, using 2693 pupil thermal sensation responses and measured classroom temperatures from surveys in two naturally ventilated school buildings. The data were examined in two steps. Firstly, each survey set, obtained over one-day visits to the schools, was examined in order to derive the relationship between indoor temperature change and comfort vote with minimum impact of adaptation. Secondly, the data set was investigated over the entire survey period in relation to the weather experienced by the pupils in order to estimate their time for adaptation to outdoor temperature changes. The analysis shows that the basic adaptive comfort relationships are valid for children. However, a difference was found for the correlation coefficients of the comfort temperature to the outdoor running mean temperature between the schools, and a mismatch between their adaptive comfort equations. It is proposed that the difference in the consistency of the weather during the tests is the main reason for this discrepancy

Do the constants used in adaptive comfort algorithms reflect the observed responses of children in junior school classrooms?

This paper compares the values used for the Griffiths constant (G=0.5) and the running mean constant (?=0.8) in adaptive comfort algorithms with the values calculated from thermal comfort field surveys in two naturally ventilated junior schools in Southampton, UK. The surveys were conducted outside the heating season in 2011 and 2012 respectively, including both questionnaire surveys and environmental monitoring. A total of 2693 pupil responses were used for this analysis. The data was examined in two steps: first, each survey set; obtained over a 1-day visit to the school; was examined in order to derive the relationship between indoor temperature change and comfort vote with minimum impact of adaptation. Second, the dataset was investigated for the prolonged periods of the surveys, in relation to weather experienced by the pupils in order to estimate their time for adaptation to outdoor temperature changes. The paper gives an insight into the response of pupils to internal and external temperature changes, immediate and over prolonged periods, in comparison to adults

B-space: pre-refurbishment assessment and classification of building facades

Improving the energy performance of existing buildings is a key target of the EU to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions. However, many refurbishments in the commercial building sector are primarily cosmetic and do not appropriately address the users’ demands for the indoor environment. Consequently these refurbishments fail to improve the comfort quality and therefore achieve low user acceptance values. A pre-refurbishment assessment of present building conditions and occupant profiles alongside energy efficiency considerations is therefore a prudent approach to successful refurbishment. This paper describes a software tool termed B-space (Building Simulation through Parametric Analysis of Comfort and Energy) designed for pre-refurbishment assessment of commercial buildings. It provides a database platform combined with simulation routines addressing the thermal and comfort performance of the building. B-space estimates the building’s carbon footprint and gives an energy performance rating relative to the UK building stock. The complexity of inputs is kept at an understandable level that allows building assessment without extensive prior training and time commitment, making B-space a tool that can be applied at early consultancy stages for bodies that seek to improve their buildings’ performance

Evaluating climate change implications for typical office buildings in the UK: is the current building stock future-proof?

Climate change is considered to be one of the greatest long-term challenges facing the human race. With a predicted rise of the global average temperature in the range of several degrees Celsius by 2100 from a 1990’s baseline the potential implications of climate change on the way we live and work are evident. In particular buildings, inside which we spend a major part of our time, will need to adapt to changed environmental conditions. However, the current building stock is designed on the basis of historic climate data and in general not projected for the long term future. Nevertheless, the larger proportion of the buildings present today can be expected to be still there in 30 or 50 years time. Therefore, it is important to integrate climate change considerations into planning and refurbishment regimes now to produce buildings that are future-proof in view of climate change. This paper assesses the potential impacts of a changing climate on typical office building types in the UK with a particular focus on summer overheating. Office buildings can be considered to be the most vulnerable building type to climate variations due to high occupancy levels and high internal loads. They are the first buildings that can be expected failing to perform

Secondary facade layers in building refurbishment and their potential impact on building performance

New building regulations coming into force within the member states of the EU will have a clear impact on building refurbishment of large scale commercial buildings, which will need to comply with minimum requirements for energy performance. The integration of an internal or external face layer whilst retaining the original face offers specific potential for refurbishment of multi-storey office buildings. It reduces thermal losses in winter and minimises disruption caused by construction. This paper discusses basic face refurbishment options for office buildings at the end of a refurbishment cycle, comparing them in respect of their impact on comfort, operational energy performance and future building maintenance. The energy performance of a naturally ventilated cellular office in the UK is simulated, comparing the original face solution with three face refurbishment solutions: a face replacement, a secondary internal and a secondary external face layer. It is shown that whilst improvements in the energy performance of the building can be achieved, provision for some form of summer cooling will be necessary. The relative performance of the three face refurbishment options is discussed and their sensitivity to climate change analysed