ESTIMATIVA DA ENERGIA CONSUMIDA PARA EVAPOTRANSPIRAÇÃO DE MACRÓFITAS EM ESCALA DE MESOCOSMOS

Abstract

Urban heat island (UHI) is a phenomenon that intensifies with population growth in the city, due to rapid urbanization and vegetation removal. This phenomenon negatively affects human health and well-being due to high temperatures and heat waves. This is because urban infrastructures, such as buildings and roads, can absorb solar radiation and dissipate it in the form of heat, unlike vegetation, which absorbs solar radiation, and a significant part of this energy is used in the evapotranspiration process. In this sense, vegetated areas are a good alternative for reversing the formation of UHI, and the constructed wetland (CW) is a green infrastructure to be considered, as it uses macrophytes to treat effluents. This study aimed to evaluate the energy consumed for evapotranspiration in plants used in CWs. The evapotranspiration of four macrophyte species was estimated, namely Canna x generalis, Heliconia psittacorum, Thalia geniculata and Typha domingensis, in relation to a control condition. Canna x generalis stood out for its rapid adaptation and growth, and consequently higher evapotranspiration values compared to the other species and the control, with potential absorption of up to 3.22ºC.