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2009
Conference Paper
Titel
Noise control by hedges and woods
Abstract
Hedges and woods perform important duties in our environment: filtering of air, production of oxygen, acting as fencings, blinds and windbreaks and providing habitat for birds and insects. However, for sound barriers in urban planning they are rarely utilised. This is due to the fact, that the damping of plants is regarded very low in the relevant planning directives, so that a noticeable sound reduction can only be achieved by largearea green space. On the other hand, the damping coefficients given in the directives are only minimal values for not specified situations. In practice under optimized conditions the damping coefficients of hedges can be much larger, so that they can provide an interesting alternative for environmental noise control. Until now, very little knowledge on the acoustic properties of hedge plants is available. Therefore the basic acoustic properties of hedges and woods are investigated in a research project that comprises measurements and computer simulation. The focus of the project is to gain information on the damping and absorption coefficients of hedges and to provide reliable data on their acoustic properties for urban and landscape planning. First results of the investigation are reported.