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Article

Characterization of Sidewalk Trees and Their Mitigation Effect on Extreme Warm Temperatures in a Tropical City of Mexico

by
Itzel Castro-Mendoza
1,*,
José Raúl Vázquez-Pérez
2,
Roberto Antonio Fonseca-Núñez
3 and
Carlos Guzmán-López
3
1
Centro de Investigación Regional Pacifico Sur, Campo Experimental Centro de Chiapas, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Ocozocoautla de Espinosa 29140, Mexico
2
Biodiversity and Tropical Ecosystem Conservation PhD Program, University of Science and Arts of Chiapas (UNICACH), Tuxtla Gutiérrez 29039, Mexico
3
Biology Science Program, University of Science and Arts of Chiapas (UNICACH), Tuxtla Gutiérrez 29039, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Forests 2025, 16(9), 1408; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091408
Submission received: 21 July 2025 / Revised: 29 August 2025 / Accepted: 30 August 2025 / Published: 3 September 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Urban Forestry)
Browse Figures
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Abstract

In Mexico, an emerging tropical nation, where cities have insufficient vegetation cover and there is little information about their provision of ecosystem services; the study of urban vegetation, as a mitigation strategy, is required. The sidewalk trees in the city of Arriaga (CAR), considered one of the warmest cities in the Mexican southeast, were counted, measured, and assessed for their effect on surface and air temperatures. There are 6239 sidewalk trees, distributed in 11 families and 13 species; 136 trees were sampled concentrating 77% in three species: Neem, Country almond and Benjamina fig. Therefore, a low H’ (1.73 nats) was obtained. The mitigating effect of tree shade on surface temperature went from 7 °C to 23 °C, depending on the day and hour, while there was not a significant refreshing effect of air temperature because the height of sidewalk trees is controlled with severe pruning to prevent damage to public wiring, causing a similar-sized stratum that traps air under the tree canopy. Consequently, an integral solution that includes, but is not limited to, urban trees is required without leaving aside increasing tree diversity, health, and equitable distribution of trees at CAR.

Graphical Abstract

1. Introduction

The land cover change caused by urbanization generates extreme warm temperatures at tropical cities [1,2], where the anthropogenic activities, the effects of Climate Change (CC) and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon combine with the social and economic vulnerability of population [3]. Even when a global increase in temperature is referred to as daily means, different reports have shown that maximum and minimum temperatures are increasing at the same rate as the mean temperature and occur in more days during the year [4,5], increasing the exposure of the population, biodiversity and infrastructure to threatening temperatures. This global thermal trend mixes with the hyper-urbanization process of Latin America, which is characterized as being a disruptive process [4].
Extreme hot events in cities are expected to increase in frequency and mortality in Latin America [6], involving people 65+ years of age, with respiratory and cardio pathology being the highest risk group. Other characteristics, such as geographic ubication, also increase the risk of mortality; for example, Kephart et al. [6] reported a higher risk of death related to an increase in temperature of 1 °C in coastal cities of Latin America compared to cities in temperate climates with the same increase in temperature. In Mexico, where more than 50% of its territory is located within the intertropical strip, warmth is part of everyday life in coastal cities [7], and the population is used to high temperatures. In that context, municipalities with overcrowded households need clear and timely heat plans that include prevention, mitigation, and attention actions.
There are several strategies for mitigation of extreme warm temperatures [4,5,8], but urban vegetation (UVeg) is the most common and multifaceted one [5,7,9,10]. Different studies have shown that UVeg not only provides essential ecosystem services for livelihood but also contributes to energy savings and health care for city residents [11,12,13,14,15]. UVeg is considered the main cooling strategy for cities, but when combined with a green–blue–grey infrastructure, their positive effect multiplies, especially when large areas are reforested and mixed with water bodies [16,17,18]. The role of UVeg in urban climate regulation can be approached at different scales; for example, in situ measurements provide outstanding local information but are highly temporally limited due to its economic and human resource demand [19,20,21]. The second approach considered remote and modeling analysis and demands well-structured data bases and computational resources [21] that are not always available in emerging nations.
The influence of UVeg on climate varies according to scale, season, physiological requirements and geographic ubication [22,23,24]. Also, different vegetation stratus has distinct processes of climate regulation [20,25]; for example, lawns offer less resistance to air circulation, reporting lower air temperatures (AT) in shade conditions; in contrast, the highest performance of trees, as a mitigation means, is reported on land surface temperature (LST) [20,25,26]. Trees reduce surface and air temperature through the interception of direct short-wave radiation (SWR) by canopy [19,20,27,28,29], the air moisture increased by evapotranspiration [17,19,20,30,31] and the promotion of wind fluxes caused by different crown heights [22]. Notice that even UVeg decreases temperature as a natural effect of its physiology; it rarely reaches its full potential as a climate regulator due to adverse environmental conditions in cities like the exposure to high evaporative surroundings, nutrient shortage, pruning practices and poor infiltration of rainwater into the soil [32,33].
Canopy leaves absorb SWR using the visible spectrum in photosynthesis and infrared waves for supporting metabolic processes [19], preventing surface and air from being warmed. The mitigation performance of leaves depends on the physiology and phenology state [23,24] of the plant and is usually determined by the leaf area index (LAI), where high values generally indicate dense and well-hydrated canopies that generate low LST [27]. We must consider that LAI varies during the year depending on the species, resource availability or stressful factors like water supply. Crawford et al. [24] concluded that high air temperature across non-irrigated zones increased the length of growth season and delayed the end of it, which may be the case of urban tropical vegetation. Also, Speak et al.’s [19] approach consisted of in situ thermal images taken across walking transects between 11:00 to 16:00 h during eight clear sunny days of August and September 2018 at Bolzano, Italy. They found a LST reduction of between 8.5 °C and 16.4 °C under tree shade conditions, pointing out LAI and crown width as the more significant tree traits in temperature regulation. Armson et al. [20] measured LST in plot experiments at the University of Manchester and Whitworth Park over June–July 2009 and June–September 2010 finding tree shaded decreased 19 °C the LST.
Trees cool air temperature (AT) by evapotranspiration [22,34,35,36], although its relation is not direct because AT is highly affected by ambient factors like wind or city roughness [22] and transpiration rate of plants is not uniform during daytime depending on water supply, LAI and stomatal resistance [31]. The refreshing effect of trees reported by Ziter et al. [30] in AT was around 0.7 to 1.5 °C. The experiment consisted of mounting weather sensors on two bicycles that transit ten transects through the city of Madison, Wisconsin, during summer 2016. Similar values were registered by Konarska et al. [32] and Middel et al. [37] at Gothenburg and Phoenix cities, respectively. In contrast Shashua-Bar et al. [38] and Armson et al. [20] found no significant differences between direct Sun and tree-shaded AT.
In Mexico, the temperature raising trend caused by urbanization have been studied since 1997 [3,34,39,40,41,42,43,44,45] but not the relation between trees and urban climate regulation. Few studies are concentrated at populated cities like Mexico [31], Querétaro [46], Mérida [47] and medium cities and Xalapa [48]. Palafox-Juárez et al. [47] used a LULC approach to Urban Heat Island at Mérida city establishing a difference of 3.5 °C of LST between the city and the vegetated surrounding. Ballinas et al. [31] concentrated their effort in modeling the transpiration of four dominant species in Mexico City, Fraxinus uhdei (Wenz.) Lingelsh, Ligustrum lucidum W.T. Aiton, Eucaliptus camaldulensis Dehnh.), and Liquidambar styraciflua L. They measured tree density, LAI, stomatal conductance and air and leaf temperature during 13 days of March 2006; and considering that Fraxinus uhdei and L. styraciflua are deciduous trees and native to Mexico, whereas L. lucidum and Eucaliptus camaldulensis are evergreen and introduces species. Results suggest that sensible heat flux decreased when tree density rises, having Fraxinus uhdei the most effective performance. Colunga et al. [46] in Queretaro made a similar effort but focused on the efficiency of LAI at different canopy levels related with different trees densities at residential plots. Even they did not describe the tree species, they recognized that deciduous trees have lower mitigation capacity during cold season.
Despite the physiological willingness of trees to regulate urban climates, successful afforestation in cities requires more than planting any tree at any place. Greening cities is a usual practice of municipalities and civil organizations, but the maximum potential of vegetation has not been reached because previous logistics do not consider the follow-up of planted trees, the exhaustive selection of the species to use, the adequate distribution and the diagnosis of the already planted vegetation [49,50,51]. Ma et al. [51] concluded that a successful reforestation program is planned based on an updated tree inventory. The planning process of a reforestation program requires information and time that is not usually available for authorities, although municipalities are required to update forest inventories and disclose the results [52,53]. Urban tree inventories are also essential for ecosystem service quantification [12]: tools like i-tree determine the services provided by trees using variables measured in inventories that help to estimate carbon sequestration and storage, oxygen production and pollution removal.
This study reports the second part of the UHI research at the city of Arriaga (CAR). In the previous stage, two inputs were generated for this next phase: (1) the total number of sidewalk trees at CAR and (2) the LST patterns observed in seven different years (1985, 1992, 2001, 2011, 2016, 2021, 2023) using Landsat imagery. This information was used to determine the sample size of the trees and the ubication of the data acquisition campaigns. We considered that extremely high LST temperatures found at a local scale during the first stage of this study, can be ameliorated through urban trees at a microclimate scale, and for that, the aim is to generate in situ information about tree traits in CAR and their effect in temperatures.

2. Materials and Methods

During 2022 and 2023 the first stage of this research consisted of visualizing Land Surface Temperature (LST) patterns across CAR. The LST registered on May 2023 was used to determine the streets over morphometric, sanitary, obstruction and weather data will be collected (Figure 1). Two avenues were chosen according to certain characteristics; first, one of them should cross the city from north–south direction (6th avenue), while the other on the east–western direction (5th avenue). Second, along their routes, those streets must cross high LST (≥56 °C) zones, called “hot spots”. From the total amount of trees in the chosen avenues, tree plots selection follow proximity to “hot spots” of maximum 150 m.
From December 2023 to July 2024, six campaigns of field data acquisition were carried out on the selected transect streets. The first three campaigns included weather, sanitary, obstruction and morphometric variables, and only weather measurements were taken during the other last three.

2.1. Site Description

The city of Arriaga covers an area of 11.91 km2 and is located on the coast of the state of Chiapas, it is characterized by a dry season of eight months, beginning in October and ending in May. CAR has a subhumid climate, Aw2(w) with a fluctuating average annual precipitation of 1200 to 2000 mm that may occur from May to September. The annual temperature average oscillates between 24 and 28 °C [54], and maximums are reached between April and May, registering AT up to 40 °C, while the average range is between 30 °C and 30.5 °C [54,55]. These values exceed the tolerance limit for extreme high temperatures, which is 35 °C [56]. Furthermore, during the dry season, wind gusts can reach more than 32 km h−1, intensifying the drought by drying surface waterways and increasing suspended particles in the air. Both extreme heat and wind gusts reduce the quality of life in the city, which is home to 25,366 citizens [57], representing 57.9% of the municipal population. The city registered a mean annual rainfall of 1450 mm [53] with a wet season from June to September. It borders to the north areas of Medium Subevergreen Forest that belong to the La “Sepultura” Biosphere Reserve (REBISE) [58], while to the south, there are cattle-raising plains [54].

2.2. Sample Size Estimation

The total number of sidewalk trees was counted using a city mosaic with a resolution of 0.2 m per pixel. This information was used to estimate the sample size according to Nowak et al. [59,60] where analyses of street tree populations in different cities considered a 2% to 3% sample distributed in block segments.

2.3. Field Data Measurements

Morphometric, sanitary, obstruction and weather variables were measured during three campaigns (18 to 23 December 2023; 13 to 14 February and 3 to 4 April 2024), as in the Table 1 description. The family, gender and species gender and family were determined for each tree. All trees ≥5 cm in diameter at the breath height (DBH) were included in the study and measured with a diametric tape (Forestry Supplies Inc. Jackson, MS, USA). The shape factor of the tree was determined according to McGhee et al. [61], and a laser distance device (REVASRI, China, 1 km reach) was used to measure the total height of the tree. The estimation of the crown width was measured on two axes, according to cardinal directions (north–south and east–west) and perpendicularly to the stem. The average leafiness was determined with a transparent acetate divided into quadrants, so the crown could be seen through, and depending on the number of quadrants that were filled by the crown, a percentage was assigned. The obstruction variables considered were whether the roots, stem or branches caused any damage to urban infrastructure. Finally, from May to July 2024, fieldwork campaigns registered only weather variables.

2.4. Ecological Analysis

The structure of the tree community was determined by the richness and diversity of the species. We considered richness the number of species recorded in the study area, and for the diversity analysis, a Shannon–Weaver index was estimated (Equation (1)).
H ′ = ∑ i = 1 s p i   l n   p i
where H’ is the Shannon–Weaver Index (nats); S is the total number of species; pi corresponds to the abundance of species i divided by the sum of the abundances of the species that make up the community; and ln is the natural logarithmic base [62].

2.5. Statistical Analysis

The Kruskall–Wallis test (H) and the Wilcoxon Rank Sum (W) were used to determine the variations between the variables analyzed by comparing their means when data do not have normal distributions [61]. In the case of wind speed, different patterns of intensity were identified during daytime. Dunn’s test (Dt) was applied to pairwise comparisons of wind speed; to avoid errors in comparisons, we used a Bonferroni correction method. The analyses were performed with rstatix package (version 0.7.2): Pipe-Friendly Framework for Basic Statistical Tests [60]. The correlation analysis for the comparison of environmental variables was performed with nonparametric Spearman’s test (rs), using the corplot package. This test has values from −1 to 1, where values close to 1 indicate a greater correlation between variables [63]. The test results were considered significant with a p value ≤ 0.05. Analyses were performed with R software (version 4.2.3) and the RStudio interface.

3. Results

3.1. Sample Size

After considering the total number of sidewalk trees in CAR (6239), a sample size, corresponding to 2% (136 trees) of the total population, was measured during the campaigns.

3.2. Tree Richness

Urban trees are represented by 11 families distributed in 13 species. Azadirachta indica Juss (Neem) is the most common species, representing 40% of the samples, followed by Country almond (24%) and Benjamina fig (13%). These dominant species are introduced and characterized by their resistance to drought, leafy foliage and rapid growth [64,65,66]. The native trees are represented by five species with 17 individuals of the 136 sampled trees (Table 2).
The Shannon–Weaver Index (H’) was estimated to assess species richness and abundance. In ecological terms, the adequate abundance and richness of the species determine the response of the ecosystem to certain risks; for example, a habitat with a low H’ can lose its capacity of providing ecosystem service when a disease kills the dominant species. The index ranges from 0.5 to 5, an H’ below 2 indicates a low biodiversity ecosystem, while above 3 is for ecosystems with high species richness and abundance [67,68]. In the case of the CAR groves sampled, H’ = 1.73 nats was obtained.

3.3. The Dominant Species

Three species are dominant at the urban vegetation of CAR: Neem, Country almond and Benjamina fig, in that order. They are resistant to drought, have rapid growth, and are adapted to poor and sandy soils. The Neem tree has a perennial leafy crown and is tolerant to high temperatures, but its leaves and bark produce terpenes that affect some benefic insects like pollinators, and allelopathic substances, which inhibit the germination of seeds as a strategy to diminish the competition [69]. The allelopathic behavior of the Neem tree is an indirect cause of the low H’ at the urban vegetation community and can complicate the establishment of trees at a forestation campaign focused on increasing the richness of the community.
The Country Almon tree has a broad and leafy crown most of the year, with a distinctive shape known as “pagoda”, which defoliate during winter. This species is considered multipurpose because of its medicinal properties, its high-nutritional-value nut, and the tolerance to salinity and air pollution it shows [70]. Finally, the Benjamina fig is a popular ornamental species with a wide distribution in Chiapas as urban vegetation, mainly due to its perennial leafy crown that can be modeled with aesthetic pruning. Although this species requires little maintenance, its aggressive roots constantly cause damage to urban infrastructure like underground tanks and sidewalks.

3.4. Shade of Trees and General Characteristics of Urban Vegetation

If the proportion of the species sampled is considered in the total reported sidewalk trees (6239), using the mean crown width for each species, it is estimated that an area of 0.18 km2 of sidewalk receives tree shade during a sunny day at CAR, which represents 10% of the total surface occupied by streets in the city.
The shade of the tree has a positive relationship with the width, leafiness and height of the crown; in that sense, Ciricote, Country almond, Mango and White stick tree reported crown covers of more than 30 m2 and heights above 6 m (Figure 2 and Figure 3). The greatest average leafiness (>50%) and DBH (2.98 m) are from Mango tree, the other species have an average leafiness between 20% to 50% coverage and a mean DBH and height of 0.99 m and 6 m, respectively.
About the dominant species, Country almond has the highest crown width (38.1 m2), followed by Benjamina fig (21.3 m2) and Neem (18.7 m2), and the leafiness of the tree species corresponds to the mean values (20% to 50%). Their mean height is 5.1 m, Country almond being the tallest (6.4 m).

3.5. Sanitary State of Urban Vegetation

The presence of defoliant insects has negative effects on crown width and leafiness. Around 49% of the trees sampled registered ant activity on both leaves and trunks, 89% of the Benjaminas are affected by the presence of ants, followed by 72% of the Country Almonds, and finally 37% of the Neem trees.
In addition to the presence of harmful insects, management activities, such as pruning, can affect the sanity of urban vegetation. Of the total trees sampled, 72% showed moderate pruning and the remaining 27% severe pruning. The Benjamina trees are the most affected by intense pruning (56%), followed by the Country almond (47%) and Neem (6%), from the dominant species.

3.6. Obstructions to Urban Vegetation

Despite the wide streets in the city’s layout, sidewalk spaces are narrow for planters, lampposts, and pedestrian walkways. The competition for space between urban infrastructure and trees impairs the habitability of the city since 63% of the sampled trees affect public sidewalks, electrical wirings or drainage pipes.
Two of the dominant species are in constant competition with urban infrastructure; for example, the roots of Benjamina trees are aggressive water seekers that break sidewalks, drainage pipes, and even underground water reservoirs; in response, citizens prune aggressively or remove the tree.

3.7. Weather Variables

The effect of trees as temperature mitigators was evaluated by recording the surface temperature (ST) and the air temperature (AT) on the sidewalk that were influenced by the Sun and the shade of trees. The mitigating effect of tree shade over ST was significant (p < 0.0001) along data time scale (Figure 4a), where mean ST decreases by an average of 8.5 °C. The maximum ST recorded was 66.9 °C during May at 14:00 h on a tar-covered sidewalk under direct Sun (Table 3). In contrast, data showed no significant differences (p = 0.27) between AT in direct sun or under tree shade conditions (Figure 4b); nevertheless, averages of mean, maximum, and minimum values tend to be higher in tree shade than in direct sun conditions (Table 3). The maximum AT registered was 46.6 °C in tree shade on the same day and hour and covered like the maximum ST reported.
Concerning to the temperature in tree shade, ST was consistently (p < 0.0001) less than AT (Table 3), with an average of 2 °C (Figure 4c). Instead, the pattern is reversed (Figure 4d) with direct sun (p < 0.0001), where the ST mean rise is around 7 °C above AT (Figure 4d). Significant differences (p < 0.0001) are also found in relative humidity and solar radiation (Figure 4e,f) between sunny and shady conditions. The wind speed followed different patterns throughout the day (Figure 4g); for example, it was constant between 7:00 and 8:00 h (Dt = 1.09, p > 0.05), speeding up from 1.7 to 3.1 ms−1 (Dt = −3.47, p < 0.05) around 8:00 to 10:00 h and decreasing toward night (Dt = −5.59, p < 0.0001).
Throughout the day, the greatest difference in surface temperature was reached between 14:00 and 16:00 h, when the mean effect of tree shade mitigation was 16.7 °C; in contrast, the air temperature was not affected by tree shade, as shown in Figure 4. The comparison between ST_Sun and AT_Sun showed that during day light hours, surface temperatures influenced by sun are higher than air temperatures, as opposed to ST_Shade and AT_Shade, where diurnal air temperatures are greater under tree shade, and surface temperature became higher at nocturnal hours.
Relative humidity (RH) during the early hours in the shade of trees was 15% higher than in direct sun and decreased up to 15:00 h, when it started to increase (Figure 4e). In contrast, the RH in direct sun conditions is more stable during the day, varying only by 23%. Solar radiation (SR) had the opposite behavior as described for RH because SR_Shade was the one with less variation compared to SR_Sun, which reaches its highest value at 14:00 h. Finally, the wind speed (WS) increased to 10:00 h and maintained its speed until 14:00, significantly decreasing during nocturnal hours.
Solar radiation (SR) determines heat fluxes on Earth and influences weather variables in different senses and magnitudes. It had a positive relation with AT and ST, being stronger under direct sun conditions, and inverse to relative humidity (Figure 5). The influence of relative humidity (RH) is inverse to temperature (AT, ST), as well as wind speed (WS) to RH under tree shade conditions (Figure 5).

4. Discussion

The years 2023 and 2024 were especially warm throughout the world [71]; therefore, the temperatures reported in this study capture the effect of the global anomaly on weather patterns, and although it is a fortunate coincidence to have recorded this event, we consider that our results are not representative of average temperatures but rather abnormally high thermal conditions in CAR. On the other hand, even when morphometric, sanitary, obstruction and weather information was registered, the lack of plant physiology data is a weakness of our study that would have provided information about native and introduced tree performance under extreme hot conditions [72].
The comprehension of UVeg is complex in an ecosystem services view because, in order to guarantee maximum performance, it is required to understand not only general trends and relations but also local variability of environmental conditions. In that sense, even when tree distribution and abundance assessment was not part of the aim of this study, it is important to mention that the ONU-Habitat guide [73] recommended one tree for every three inhabitants; if we consider the total population of CAR at 2020 (25,366 persons), the city has a deficit of 2216 trees necessary to provide all the ecosystem services that this element of UVeg can provide; therefore, afforestation campaigns are necessary to counteract the tree shortfall in CAR.
The city is covered by 1.22 km2 of vegetation, which corresponds to 10% of the total area of CAR. The vegetation is exclusively composed of trees, distributed between two continuous spaces of 3 and 3.5 ha, representing 8% of the total vegetation, and the remaining 92% are individual trees dispersed on sidewalks. This unbalanced structure limits the cooling benefits of UVeg in CAR [74,75]. Huang et al. [26] recognized lawns’ capacity to reduce upward longwave radiation at the ground stratus, refreshing the pedestrian level with consequent thermal comfort improvement. Although lawns are not recommended for cities because of their high irrigation demand, native shrubs, with less water requirements, can substitute for them with similar results in upward longwave radiation.
The distribution of trees in the city is polarized to the northern sectors, where the city limits the REBISE, and 74% of the current green cover is concentrated within CAR. The proximity to the natural reserve and the presence of two parks influenced local LST (Figure 1). In contrast, the urban growth of the city is pushed to the south bound, characterized by flat lands with scarce vegetation that registered the warmest zones in CAR. Local and Regional approaches to UVeg and temperatures recognized the importance to well-distributed vegetation cover for heat mitigation [76,77]. Wu et al. [78] analyzed the effect of increasing vegetation coverage over Chinese cities by 4.35% from 2000 to 2020, which led to cooling in 67.43% of the cities analyzed. Afforesting the south zone of CAR also requires considering drought-resistant species, both for livestock fodder and for cooling environments.
In addition to the distribution and number of trees, diversity is crucial for the provision of ecosystem services. With a low H’ obtained, the urban vegetation of CAR shows a low diversity community with an unbalanced abundance of individuals, representing a risk for the dominant species in the case of an infection or climatic stressful weather conditions. Ants developed different relations with plants according to the benefits they obtain; a mutualist relation with one plant species could be alternated with an aggressive defoliation behavior with other species [79,80], and they can spread different diseases, such as spores on leaves, or establish associations with other harmful insects, like aphids, that are agents of the transmission of fungi and more than 70 different viruses [79,81]. Ants are present in almost half of sampled trees, and their relationship with dominant species requires deeper studies into CAR. In general, the high frequency of ants in Benjamina fig may indicate a defensive service provided by ants against pollinating fig wasps [80], although this assumption cannot be verified since wasps develop inside figs and none were found during field work. On the other hand, ants are recognized as pests for Almond trees due to their tendency to feed on the nutmeat [82], limiting the dispersion of Almond trees. In the case of Neem, only 37% reported presence of ants, which may not be indicative of any relation, considering production of terpenes.
Another sanitary risk among CAR vegetation is the pruning intensity. Comin et al. [33] and Lonsdale [83] recognized the benefits of prunes in plant growth and health but also warned about the effects of severe pruning on the physiology of plants, patterns of plant growth and their capacity to provide ecosystem services. According to Comin et al. [33], the latent heat dissipated by topped trees decreases because of the reduction in total leaf area. This reduction in crown modifies the growth pattern of the plant because resource investment is usually in the steam enlargement, but after topping, trees concentrated into reestablished crown density through watersprouts, root suckers and lengthening the roots [33,84]. The consequence depends on the tree species: some are just affected in their physiology, but others, like Benjamina fig, whose roots are aggressive seekers of nutrients and water, tend to damage sidewalks, drainage pipes and water reservoirs after a topping. Additionally, in CAR, pruning is performed primarily with a machete, causing tears in the affected tissue and promoting infection, weak branching, and the eventual drying and deformity of the trunk.
The main reason for severe pruning was the damage of tree branches to public wiring, because in Mexico, this service is provided by an outdoor network supported by electric poles. Alas, the habitability of the city decreases since the rivalry between trees and public wiring are not considered in the growth planification of the city. For example, power outages and fires can be produced by tree branching interference with power lines, especially during the windy season, but when trees are removed or prune to control height, their capacity to ameliorate microclimate also decreases. Municipalities promote not planting trees under power lines, but at the same time approve residential developments with narrow sidewalks.
Along the time scale of this study, the thermal patterns showed that the maximum effect of tree shade is in ST. According to other studies, tree shade decreased ST by around 8 to 20 °C [20,29,78] in comparison with the 7 to 23 °C registered with CAR. Differences in maximum values may be caused by global temperature anomalies during 2023 and 2024. The influence of tree shade with AT is more conservative with regard to the influence of other weather values compared to tree shade and ST. At early hours when RH_Shade is high and WS and SR_Shade are at minimum values, AT_Shade is 1 °C higher than AT_Sun on average. Li and Liu et al. [35] also modeled stomal regulation and mention that during the diurnal hours, evapotranspiration decreases due to stomal closure as a strategy to prevent dehydration.
Cars, benches, light poles, and even tree trunks increase the roughness of the pedestrian level that, in combination with the homogeneous crown height (5.13 m) of the dominant species, experienced slow WS encapsulating warm air under the canopy [22,35,36,75] at early hours. Once WS increased, AT_Shade decreased between 10:00 and 12:00 h. Segura et al. [85] studied AT and ST over two forested streets in Barcelona, and found that, on average, AT was 1.3 °C higher than ST when wind direction (WD) was perpendicular to the street. Further research in CAR may consider measured WD and WS across different heights of the street canyon.
The registered temperatures exceeded 35 °C since 10:00 h, which is considered the strong stress temperature threshold, and the risk of death increased [2,86,87]; but when RH was greater than 60%, this threshold diminished to 31 °C, and in the case of CAR, it was reached between 8:00 and 9:00 h for AT and ST and decreased to 17:00 h. That means citizens are exposed to strong stress temperatures for at least seven hours a day on average, and even when trees refresh ST, the effect is not enough to diminish human health risks.

5. Conclusions

CAR has a deficit of trees, and the greening goal may be guided by the ONU recommendation of having at least one public tree for every three inhabitants dispersed on sidewalks and in public parks with a minimum size of 3 ha. Afforestation campaigns should consider starting in southern sectors and mixing trees with shrubs, improving the structure and microclimate regulation. Breeders located in the south of the city follow conventional cattle raising techniques and are reluctant to lose pasturelands by planting trees, but at the same time, during the dry season, livestock suffer water scarcity and extreme heat. An option for this dilemma is to plant perimetral fodder trees that may provide food and shade to livestock without competing for space with pastures.
The paradigm that, with the mere presence of trees, ecosystem services are guaranteed in urban environments is, in fact, more complex. First, adequate distribution across the city is necessary to guarantee access to ecosystem services for every citizen. Then, the species selection should contemplate a high biodiversity and a good abundance of tree species considering those adapted to the local weather conditions, and in this way, aggressive behavior against urban infrastructure can be prevented.
For CAR, we recommend medium-sized trees resistant to drought and torrential winds, such as Matailisguate (Tubebuia rosea dc.), which has taproots adapted to compacted soils [88]. Finally, we recommend conserving urban trees with healthy maintenance practices that exclude topping. Even if all these steps were to be followed, in the case of intense ENSO conditions, trees are not enough to transform weather into comfortable temperatures in CAR. The alternative is to improve not only the quantity and quality of vegetation across the city, but also the urban design.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, I.C.-M.; methodology, I.C.-M.; formal analysis, J.R.V.-P.; investigation, R.A.F.-N. and C.G.-L.; resources, I.C.-M., R.A.F.-N. and C.G.-L.; data curation, J.R.V.-P.; writing—original draft preparation, I.C.-M.; writing—review and editing, I.C.-M. and J.R.V.-P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by National Institute of Forestry, Agricultures and Livestock Research (INIFAP) by the government fund 651835895.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their gratitude to the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultures and Livestock Research (INIFAP) for funding this research. They also thank Gerardo Colin García for its valuable suggestions to this manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funding agencies had no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.

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Figure 1. Location of the city of Arriaga in Chiapas State. Land surface temperature own elaboration.
Figure 1. Location of the city of Arriaga in Chiapas State. Land surface temperature own elaboration.
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Figure 2. Average height, crown width, leafiness and DBH of tree species in the city of Arriaga. Part 1.
Figure 2. Average height, crown width, leafiness and DBH of tree species in the city of Arriaga. Part 1.
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Figure 3. Average height, crown width, leafiness and DBH of tree species in the city of Arriaga. Part 2.
Figure 3. Average height, crown width, leafiness and DBH of tree species in the city of Arriaga. Part 2.
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Figure 4. Surface and air temperature in the city of Arriaga. ST_Shade = surface temperature influenced by the shade of tree, ST_Sun = surface temperature influenced by direct Sun, AT_Shade = air temperature influenced by the shade of tree, AT_Sun = air temperature influenced by direct Sun. SR_Shade = solar radiation influenced by the shade of tree, SR_Sun = solar radiation influenced by direct Sun. (a) Comparison between mean ST_Shade and ST_Sun. (b) Comparison between mean AT_Shade and AT_Sun. (c) Comparison between mean ST_Shade and AT_Shade. (d) Comparison between mean ST_Sun and AT_Sun. (e) Comparison between mean RH_Shade and RH_Sun. (f) Comparison between mean SR_Shade and SR_Sun. (g) Wind speed in different schedules.
Figure 4. Surface and air temperature in the city of Arriaga. ST_Shade = surface temperature influenced by the shade of tree, ST_Sun = surface temperature influenced by direct Sun, AT_Shade = air temperature influenced by the shade of tree, AT_Sun = air temperature influenced by direct Sun. SR_Shade = solar radiation influenced by the shade of tree, SR_Sun = solar radiation influenced by direct Sun. (a) Comparison between mean ST_Shade and ST_Sun. (b) Comparison between mean AT_Shade and AT_Sun. (c) Comparison between mean ST_Shade and AT_Shade. (d) Comparison between mean ST_Sun and AT_Sun. (e) Comparison between mean RH_Shade and RH_Sun. (f) Comparison between mean SR_Shade and SR_Sun. (g) Wind speed in different schedules.
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Figure 5. Correlation between the weather variables registered in the city of Arriaga. ST_Shade = surface temperature down the shade of tree, ST_Sun = surface temperature at direct Sun, AT_Shade = air temperature down the shade of tree, AT_Sun = air temperature at direct Sun, RH_Shade = Relative humidity down the shade of tree, RH_Sun = relative humidity at direct Sun, SR_Shade = solar radiation down the shade of tree, SR_Sun = solar radiation at direct Sun, WS = wind speed.
Figure 5. Correlation between the weather variables registered in the city of Arriaga. ST_Shade = surface temperature down the shade of tree, ST_Sun = surface temperature at direct Sun, AT_Shade = air temperature down the shade of tree, AT_Sun = air temperature at direct Sun, RH_Shade = Relative humidity down the shade of tree, RH_Sun = relative humidity at direct Sun, SR_Shade = solar radiation down the shade of tree, SR_Sun = solar radiation at direct Sun, WS = wind speed.
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Table 1. Morphometric, sanitary, obstruction and weather variables measured and their units.
Table 1. Morphometric, sanitary, obstruction and weather variables measured and their units.
Morphometric
Diameter at breast height (DBH)m
Heightm
Shape factorN/A
Crown widthm2
Leafiness%
Sanitary
Insect/Fungi at leaves and trunkPresence/Absence
Pruning intensityModerate/Severe
Obstruction
Sidewalk damagePresence/Absence
Electrical wiring damagePresence/Absence
Weather
Air temperature at sidewalk in direct sun conditions (AT_Sun)°C
Surface temperature of sidewalk in direct sun conditions (ST_Sun)°C
Air temperature at sidewalk in tree shade conditions (AT_shade)°C
Surface temperature of sidewalk in tree shade conditions (ST_shade)°C
Solar radiation in direct sun conditions (SR_Sun)Wm−2
Solar radiation in tree shade conditions (SR_shade)Wm−2
Wind speed (WS)ms−1
Relative humidity in direct sun conditions (RH_Sun)%
Relative humidity in tree shade conditions (RH_shade)%
Table 2. Urban tree richness in the city of Arriaga.
Table 2. Urban tree richness in the city of Arriaga.
NameFamilySpecieOriginNumber of Individuals
Benjamin figMoraceaeFicus benjamina L.India 18
Canary Island date palmArecaceaePhoenix canariensis H.Canary Islands3
Caribbean royal palmArecaceaeRoystonea oleracea (Jacq.) O.F. CookAntilles and South America4
CiricoteBoraginaceaeCordia dodecandra A. DC.Mexico, Guatemala and Belice1
GuavaMyrtaceaePsidium guajava L.Mexico and Central America2
Country almondCombretaceaeTerminalia catappa L.India32
LemonRutaceaeCitrus x aurantifolia (Christim.) SwingleIndia and Southeast Asia1
MangoAnacardaceaeMangifera indica L.India and Southeast Asia1
NeemMeliaceaeAzadirachta indica Juss.India and Southeast Asia54
Oriental thujaCupresaceaePlatycladus orientalis L.China and North Korea1
Prarie acaciaFabaceaeAcaciella sp.Mexico and Central America3
White stick or MautoFabaceaeLysiloma divaricatum (Jacq.) J. F. Mcbr.Mexico and Central America8
Yellow bellsBignoniaceaeTecoma stans (L.) Juss ex KnuthNorth and Central America3
Table 3. Surface and air temperature on the sidewalk in the city of Arriaga.
Table 3. Surface and air temperature on the sidewalk in the city of Arriaga.
Surface Temperature (°C)Air Temperature (°C)Relative Humidity (%)Solar Radiation (Wm−2)Wind Speed (ms−1)
Tree ShadeDirect SunTree ShadeDirect SunTree ShadeDirect SunTree ShadeDirect Sun
Mean31.3139.833.5632.961.1050.5550.26555.341.80
Maximum44.366.946.64383.9863.8978.00917.483.06
Minimum23.821.62625.6540.3841.0219.6025.500.17
Rango20.545.320.617.3543.6122.8758.40891.982.90
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Castro-Mendoza, I.; Vázquez-Pérez, J.R.; Fonseca-Núñez, R.A.; Guzmán-López, C. Characterization of Sidewalk Trees and Their Mitigation Effect on Extreme Warm Temperatures in a Tropical City of Mexico. Forests 2025, 16, 1408. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091408

AMA Style

Castro-Mendoza I, Vázquez-Pérez JR, Fonseca-Núñez RA, Guzmán-López C. Characterization of Sidewalk Trees and Their Mitigation Effect on Extreme Warm Temperatures in a Tropical City of Mexico. Forests. 2025; 16(9):1408. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091408

Chicago/Turabian Style

Castro-Mendoza, Itzel, José Raúl Vázquez-Pérez, Roberto Antonio Fonseca-Núñez, and Carlos Guzmán-López. 2025. "Characterization of Sidewalk Trees and Their Mitigation Effect on Extreme Warm Temperatures in a Tropical City of Mexico" Forests 16, no. 9: 1408. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091408

APA Style

Castro-Mendoza, I., Vázquez-Pérez, J. R., Fonseca-Núñez, R. A., & Guzmán-López, C. (2025). Characterization of Sidewalk Trees and Their Mitigation Effect on Extreme Warm Temperatures in a Tropical City of Mexico. Forests, 16(9), 1408. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091408

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