Date of Award

2026-08-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Environmental Sciences

Advisor(s)

Deana D. Pennington

Second Advisor

Alex Mayer

Abstract

Urban green spaces (UGS) in arid regions face significant challenges due to water scarcity and extreme thermal demand. This study evaluates the efficacy of Nature Based Solutions (NBS), rain gardens and median strips, in enhancing the physiological resilience of urban trees in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Using a comparative framework, the research monitored a native evergreen (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) and an introduced deciduous species (Morus sp.) across six planting treatments. Statistical analysis reveals that green infrastructure (GI) acts as a critical physiological accelerant. Trees situated within rain gardens and medians significantly outperformed those in restricted pot and sidewalk settings, maintaining higher stomatal conductance levels throughout the peak summer heat. For Morus sp., rain gardens facilitated robust gas exchange despite negligible differences in surface soil moisture, suggesting roots were accessing a subsurface reservoir. Notably, GI interventions allowed 4-year-old D. secundiflorum specimens to match or exceed the physiological performance of 15-year-old sidewalk trees, effectively bypassing the typical establishment lag. However, structural growth was design-dependent; median treatments with high-volume trench grates supported significantly greater height and canopy volume than localized rain gardens. These findings demonstrate that strategically designed NBS are vital life-support systems that enable urban trees to maximize ecosystem services in high-stress desert environments, providing empirical justification for their integration into sustainable urban policy and resilience frameworks.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

55 p.

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Tomas Rogelio Lizarraga Ruiz

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