A study on vegetation restoration and its effect on surface temperature on slopes destroyed by engineering in semi-arid areas

Vegetation restoration on surfaces destroyed by engineering at a section of Tongliao-Chifeng Expressway was investigated.Temporal observations of surface temperatures were made using infrared imaging thermometer and the effect of vegetation restoration on surface temperature was analyzed.Results show that for surfaces destroyed by engineering in semi-arid area,stone slope-protection on southern slopes yielded higher surface temperature than that of bare natural rocks.This would exacerbate the high temperature if it were applied in the summer.In contrast,vegetation restoration could significantly reduce the surface temperature on southern slopes,which consequently improved the microclimate.Moreover,the difference in surface temperature between southern and northern slopes was mitigated by a decrease of 5-10 ℃ in summer,fall and winter.Furthermore,soil moisture also significantly affects surface temperature.