ground material to moderate microclimate?

There is one question from BS exam that I am confused about. As followed.

An architect is picking ground cover for the area surrounding a church.

If the architect wants a material that will help moderate the microclimate, which of the following is the best choice?

a. sand

b.gravel

c.soil

d.grass

The answer is grass becuase it has low albedo and high conductivity. It also says sand has high conductivity but a high albedo; Gravel has a low albedo but also has low conductivity;Soil has a high albedo and low conductivity.

I don't get why gravel has lower conductivity than grass..... and why soil has high albedo?? It is darker. And also curious which material we should use for ground surface if we need low albedo & high conductivity? dark asphalt, concrete ground or grass?

Anyone has a clue?

Joseph April 05, 2020 12:45 (Edited April 05, 2020 13:02)

Grass is an ideal answer for not only evaluation but also determination of environmental & contextual condition.(ARE 5.0 HB PA section 1) This maybe one ideal question which contain all aspect of PA exam.

Sean Engle April 06, 2020 00:49

Also - on the conductivity question - if you consider a section of what you're dealing with, gravel tends to provide separation between the stones/grain - which is why we use it for drainage. Because of this, the thermal conductivity between the stones would be reduced (as the stones have less contact with each other) rather than something like grass which grows in a more solid medium (soil) which likely also has moisture in it - which is more likely to pass the thermal characteristics down through it..

//sse

Wen Zhu April 07, 2020 05:16

That makes a lot of sense! Thanks, Sean and Hang!!

ground material to moderate microclimate?

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