资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Growing urbanisation and an increase of paved surfaces lead to drastic changes of the urban hydrological cycle. Pavements are often perceived and modelled as runoff generator that prevents any kind of infiltration and inhibits evaporation. This review takes a closer look at different paving materials and examines their water transport processes and the resulting hydrological balance by collecting and evaluating literature data and descriptions. Hydrological balance and water retention capacities are collected for numerous materials, ranging from asphalt to infiltration-active grass pavers, for moist mid-latitude climate. The assessment demonstrates that evaporation and infiltration from paved surfaces play an important role and often exceed the expected values. This results in a new classification of sealing degrees for rough estimations of the annual hydrological balance of different paving materials. Additionally, common modelling concepts and possible sources for detailed land cover data are introduced and reflected. The review concludes that paving materials are much more active and complex systems than often assumed.