Crown Density Relationship to Microclimate and Comfort Index in Telaga Sari City Forest, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract The development of urban areas that are increasingly developing causes the area of green open space to decrease, and urban buildings that are increasingly denser result in an increase in local temperatures in the city. The presence of vegetation will provide cooler air. Furthermore, the urban microclimate is an interesting thing to correlate with the presence of vegetation somewhere. The Telaga Sari City Forest is one of Balikpapan’s green open space places. This research analyz the relationship between crown density microclimate and comfort index. The method for the percentage of crown density used Habitapp App. To measure the microclimate used Thermohygrometer, and Lux Meter. From the research results, it is known that, at the Telaga Sari City Forest there is a strong relationship between crown density and microclimate, namely light intensity, temperature, humidity, and the comfort index/THI, successively the multiple R values of 0.87, 0.83, 0.78 and 0.81. The linear equations namely y = -23.677x + 1986, y = -0.0317x + 31.096, y = 0.119x + 65.891 and y = -0.0232x + 29.007. In order to create a favorable microclimate in the city and provide green open space, it required to plant trees with high canopy density values.