Air flow over and through a forest edge: A steady-state numerical simulation

A numerical model was developed to simulate neutrally stratified air flow over and through a forest edge. The spatially averaged equations for turbulent flow in vegetation canopies are derived as the governing equations. A first-order closure scheme with the capability of accounting for the bulk momentum transport process in vegetation canopies is employed. The averaged equations are solved numerically by a fractional time-step method and successive relaxation. The asymptotic solution in time is regarded as the steady-state solution. Comparisons of model output to the field measurements of Raynor (1971) indicate that the model provides a realistic mean flow.Momentum balance computations show that the pressure gradient induced by the wind blowing against the forest edge is significant and has the same order of magnitude as the drag force in the edge region. The edge effect involves the generation of drag forces, the appearance of a large pressure gradient, the upward deflection of mean flow and the transport of momentum into the edge of the canopy.     

The Effects of Canopy Leaf Area Index on Airflow Across Forest Edges: Large-eddy Simulation and Analytical Results

The structure of turbulent flows along a transition between tall-forested canopies and forest clearings continues to be an active research topic in canopy turbulence. The difficulties in describing the turbulent flow along these transitions stem from the fact that the vertical structure of the canopy and its leaf area distribution cannot be ignored or represented by an effective roughness length. Large-eddy simulation (LES) runs were performed to explore the effect of a homogeneous variation in the forest leaf area index (LAI) on the turbulent flow across forest edges. A nested grid numerical method was used to ensure the development of a deep boundary layer above the forest while maintaining a sufficiently high resolution in the region close to the ground. It was demonstrated that the LES here predicted first-order and second-order mean velocity statistics within the canopy that agree with reported Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model results, field and laboratory experiments. In the simulations reported here, the LAI was varied between 2 and 8 spanning a broad range of observed LAI in terrestrial ecosystems. By increasing the forest LAI, the mean flow properties both within the forest and in the clearing near the forest edge were altered in two fundamental ways: near the forest edge and into the clearing, the flow statistical properties resembled the so-called back-facing step (BFS) flow with a mean recirculation zone near the edge. Another recirculation zone sets up downstream of the clearing as the flow enters the tall forest canopy. The genesis of this within-forest recirculation zone can be primarily described using the interplay between the mean pressure gradients (forcing the flow) and the drag force (opposing the flow). Using the LES results, a simplified analytical model was also proposed to explain the location of the recirculation zone inside the canopy and its dependence on the forest LAI. Furthermore, a simplified scaling argument that decomposes the mean velocity at the outflow edge into a superposition of ‘exit flow’ and BFS-like flow with their relative importance determined by LAI was explored.     

Assessment of Gradient-Based Similarity Functions in the Stable Boundary Layer Derived from a Large-Eddy Simulation

Most of our knowledge on forest-edge flows comes from numerical and wind-tunnel experiments where canopies are horizontally homogeneous. To investigate the impact of tree-scale heterogeneities (\({>}1\) m) on the edge-flow dynamics, the flow in an inhomogeneous forest edge on Falster island in Denmark is investigated using large-eddy simulation. The three-dimensional forest structure is prescribed in the model using high resolution helicopter-based lidar scans. After evaluating the simulation against wind measurements upwind and downwind of the forest leading edge, the flow dynamics are compared between the scanned forest and an equivalent homogeneous forest. The simulations reveal that forest inhomogeneities facilitate flow penetration into the canopy from the edge, inducing important dispersive fluxes in the edge region as a consequence of the flow spatial variability. Further downstream from the edge, the forest inhomogeneities accentuate the canopy-top turbulence and the skewness of the wind-velocity components while the momentum flux remains unchanged. This leads to a lower efficiency in the turbulent transport of momentum within the canopy. Dispersive fluxes are only significant in the upper canopy. Above the canopy, the mean flow is less affected by the forest inhomogeneities. The inhomogeneities induce an increase in the mean wind speed that was found to be equivalent to a decrease in the aerodynamic height of the canopy. Overall, these results highlight the importance of forest inhomogeneities when looking at canopy–atmosphere exchanges in forest-edge regions.     

An Analytical Model for the Two-Scalar Covariance Budget Inside a Uniform Dense Canopy

The two-scalar covariance budget is significant within the canopy sublayer (CSL) given its role in modelling scalar flux budgets using higher-order closure principles and in estimating the segregation ratio for chemically reactive species. Despite its importance, an explicit expression describing how the two-scalar covariance is modified by inhomogeneity in the flow statistics and in the vertical variation in scalar emission or uptake rates within the canopy volume remains elusive even for passive scalars. To progress on a narrower version of this problem, an analytical solution to the two-scalar covariance budget in the CSL is proposed for the most idealized flow conditions: a stationary and planar homogeneous flow inside a uniform and dense canopy with a constant leaf area density distribution. The foliage emission (or uptake) source strengths are assumed to vary exponentially with depth while the forest floor emission is represented as a scalar flux. The analytical solution is a superposition of a homogeneous part that describes how the two-scalar covariance at the canopy top is transported and dissipated within the canopy volume, and an inhomogeneous part governed by local production mechanisms of the two-scalar covariance. The homogeneous part is primarily described by the canopy adjustment length scale, and the attenuation coefficients of the turbulent kinetic energy and the mean velocity. Conditions for which the vertical variation of the two-scalar covariance is controlled by the rapid attenuation in the mean velocity and turbulent kinetic energy profiles, vis-à-vis the vertical variation of the scalar source strength, are explicitly established. This model also demonstrates how dissimilarity in the emissions from the ground, even for the extreme binary case with one scalar turned ‘on’ and the other scalar turned ‘off’, modifies the vertical variation of the two-scalar covariance within the CSL. To assess its applicability to field conditions, the analytical model predictions were compared with observations made at two different forest types—a sparse pine forest at the Hyytiälä SMEAR II-station (in Finland) and a dense alpine hardwood forest at Lavarone (in Italy). While the model assumptions do not represent the precise canopy morphology, attenuation properties of the turbulent kinetic energy and the mean velocity, observed mixing length, and scalar source attenuation properties for these two forest types, good agreement was found between measured and modelled two scalar covariances for multiple scalars and for the triple moments at the Hyytiälä site.     

Coherent Turbulent Structures Across a Vegetation Discontinuity

The study of turbulent flow across a vegetation discontinuity is of significant interest as such landscape features are common, and as there is no available theory to describe this regime adequately. We have simulated the three-dimensional dynamics of the airflow across a discontinuity between a forest (with a leaf area index of 4) and a clearing surface using large-eddy simulation. The properties of the bulk flow, as well as the large-scale coherent turbulent structures across the forest-to-clearing transition and the clearing-to-forest transition, are systematically explored. The vertical transport of the bulk flow upstream of the leading edge gives rise to the enhanced gust zone around the canopy top, while the transport downstream of the trailing edge leads to the formation of a recirculation zone above the clearing surface. The large-scale coherent structures across the two transitions exhibit both similarities with and differences from those upstream of the corresponding transition. For example, the ejection motion is dominant over the sweep motion in most of the region 1?<?z/h < 2 (h is the canopy height) immediately downstream of the trailing edge, much as in the forested area upstream. Also, the streamwise vortex pair, which has previously been observed within the canopy sublayer and the atmospheric boundary layer, is consistently found across both transitions. However, the inflection observed both in the mean streamwise velocity, as well as in the vertical profiles of the coherent structures in the forested area, disappears gradually across the forest-to-clearing transition. The coherence of the turbulence, quantified by the percentage of the total turbulence kinetic energy that the coherent structures capture from the flow, decreases sharply immediately downstream of the trailing edge of the forest and increases downstream of the leading edge of the forest. The effects of the ratio of the forest/clearing lengths under a given streamwise periodicity on flow statistics and coherent turbulent structures are presented as well.     

An Analytical Model for Mean Wind Profiles in Sparse Canopies

Existing analytical models for mean wind profiles within canopies are applicable only in dense canopy scenarios, where all momentum is absorbed by canopy elements and, hence, the effect of the ground on turbulent mixing is not important. Here, we propose a new analytical model that can simulate mean wind profiles within sparse canopies under neutral conditions. The model adopts a linearized canopy-drag parametrization and a first-order turbulence closure scheme taking into account the effects of both the ground and canopy elements on turbulent mixing. The resulting wind profile within a sparser canopy appears to be more like a logarithmic form, with the no-slip condition at the ground being satisfied. The analytical solution converges exactly to the standard surface-layer logarithmic wind profile in the case of zero canopy density (i.e., no-canopy scenario) and tends to be an exponential wind profile for a dense canopy; this feature is unique compared with existing analytical models for canopy wind profiles. Results from the new model are in good agreement with those from laboratory experiments and numerical simulations.     

Large-eddy Simulation of Turbulent Flow across a Forest Edge. Part II: Momentum and Turbulent Kinetic Energy Budgets

Momentum and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budgets across a forest edge have been investigated using large-eddy simulation (LES). Edge effects are observed in the rapid variation of a number of budget terms across this vegetation transition. The enhanced drag force at the forest edge is largely balanced by the pressure gradient force and by streamwise advection of upstream momentum, while vertical turbulent diffusion is relatively insignificant. For variance and TKE budgets, the most important processes at the forest edge are production due to the convergence (or divergence) of the mean flow, streamwise advection, pressure diffusion and enhanced dissipation by canopy drag. Turbulent diffusion, pressure redistribution and vertical shear production, which are characteristic processes in homogeneous canopy flow, are less important at the forest transition. We demonstrate that, in the equilibrated canopy flow, a substantial amount of TKE produced in the streamwise direction by the vertical shear of the mean flow is redistributed in the vertical direction by pressure fluctuations. This redistribution process occurs in the upper canopy layers. Part of the TKE in the vertical velocity component is transferred by turbulent and pressure diffusion to the lower canopy levels, where pressure redistribution takes place again and feeds TKE back to the streamwise direction. In this TKE cycle, the primary source terms are vertical shear production for streamwise velocity variance and pressure redistribution for vertical velocity variance. The evolution of these primary source terms downwind of the forest edge largely controls the adjustment rates of velocity variances.     

Investigating a Hierarchy of Eulerian Closure Models for Scalar Transfer Inside Forested Canopies

Modelling the transfer of heat, water vapour, and CO₂ between the biosphere and the atmosphere is made difficult by the complex two-way interaction between leaves and their immediate microclimate. When simulating scalar sources and sinks inside canopies on seasonal, inter-annual, or forest development time scales, the so-called well-mixed assumption (WMA) of mean concentration (i.e. vertically constant inside the canopy but dynamically evolving in time) is often employed. The WMA eliminates the need to model how vegetation alters its immediate microclimate, which necessitates formulations that utilize turbulent transport theories. Here, two inter-related questions pertinent to the WMA for modelling scalar sources, sinks, and fluxes at seasonal to inter-annual time scales are explored: (1) if the WMA is to be replaced so as to resolve this two-way interaction, how detailed must the turbulent transport model be? And (2) what are the added predictive skills gained by resolving the two-way interaction vis-à-vis other uncertainties such as seasonal variations in physiological parameters. These two questions are addressed by simulating multi-year mean scalar concentration and eddy-covariance scalar flux measurements collected in a Loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) plantation near Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A. using turbulent transport models ranging from K-theory (or first-order closure) to third-order closure schemes. The multi-layer model calculations with these closure schemes were contrasted with model calculations employing the WMA. These comparisons suggested that (i) among the three scalars, sensible heat flux predictions are most biased with respect to eddy-covariance measurements when using the WMA, (ii) first-order closure schemes are sufficient to reproduce the seasonal to inter-annual variations in scalar fluxes provided the canonical length scale of turbulence is properly specified, (iii) second-order closure models best agree with measured mean scalar concentration (and temperature) profiles inside the canopy as well as scalar fluxes above the canopy, (iv) there are no clear gains in predictive skills when using third-order closure schemes over their second-order closure counterparts. At inter-annual time scales, biases in modelled scalar fluxes incurred by using the WMA exceed those incurred when correcting for the seasonal amplitude in the maximum carboxylation capacity (V _{cmax, 25}) provided its mean value is unbiased. The role of local thermal stratification inside the canopy and possible computational simplifications in decoupling scalar transfer from the generation of the flow statistics are also discussed.

“The tree, tilting its leaves to capture bullets of light; inhaling, exhaling; its many thousand stomata breathing, creating the air”. Ruth Stone, 2002, In the Next Galaxy

     

Mean canopy flow in an oak forest and estimation of the foliage profile by a numerical model

Summary The interaction of flow with the canopy structure is shown for an oak forest with hornbean trees (Carpinus betulus) as dense undergrowth using a large sample of 15 min mean profiles for the winter (without leaves) and the summer period (with leaves). The usefulness of the canopy flow index is analysed.To identify the processes involved in the momentum interaction a first-order closure model is interactively used. An approximation of the foliage area density from wind profile measurements is derived.With 7 Figures     

Turbulence in an almond orchard: Vertical variations in turbulent statistics

Three-dimensional wind velocity components were measured above and within a uniform almond orchard. Turbulent statistics associated with the turbulent flow inside the canopy are examined in detail. Turbulence in an almond orchard is characterized by relatively high turbulent intensities and large skewness and kurtosis values. These results indicate that the frequency distribution of wind velocity components is non-Gaussian. Conditional sampling of the turbulent measurements show that large, infrequent sweeps provide the predominant mechanism for tangential momentum stress in the canopy crown. Deep inside the canopy, a secondary wind maximum and small, but positive, tangential momentum stresses are observed.     

Edge Flow and Canopy Structure: A Large-Eddy Simulation Study

Sharp heterogeneities in forest structure, such as edges, are often responsible for wind damage. In order to better understand the behaviour of turbulent flow through canopy edges, large-eddy simulations (LES) have been performed at very fine scale (2 m) within and above heterogeneous vegetation canopies. A modified version of the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS), previously validated in homogeneous conditions against field and wind-tunnel measurements, has been used for this purpose. Here it is validated in a simple forest-clearing-forest configuration. The model is shown to be able to reproduce accurately the main features observed in turbulent edge flow, especially the “enhanced gust zone” (EGZ) present around the canopy top at a few canopy heights downwind from the edge, and the turbulent region that develops further downstream. The EGZ is characterized by a peak in streamwise velocity skewness, which reflects the presence of intense intermittent wind gusts. A sensitivity study of the edge flow to the forest morphology shows that with increasing canopy density the flow adjusts faster and turbulent features such as the EGZ become more marked. When the canopy is characterized by a sparse trunk space the length of the adjustment region increases significantly due to the formation of a sub-canopy wind jet from the leading edge. It is shown that the position and magnitude of the EGZ are related to the mean upward motion formed around canopy top behind the leading edge, caused by the deceleration in the sub-canopy. Indeed, this mean upward motion advects low turbulence levels from the bottom of the canopy; this emphasises the passage of sudden strong wind gusts from the clearing, thereby increasing the skewness in streamwise velocity as compared with locations further downstream where ambient turbulence is stronger.     

Turbulent Transfer Between Street Canyons and the Overlying Atmospheric Boundary Layer

The turbulent exchange of momentum between a two-dimensional cavity and the overlying boundary layer has been studied experimentally, using hot-wire anemometry and particle image velocimetry (PIV). Conditions within the boundary layer were varied by changing the width of the canyons upstream of the test canyon, whilst maintaining the square geometry of the test canyon. The results show that turbulent transfer is due to the coupling between the instabilities generated in the shear layer above the canyons and the turbulent structures in the oncoming boundary layer. As a result, there is no single, unique velocity scale that correctly characterizes all the processes involved in the turbulent exchange of momentum across the boundary layer. Similarly, there is no single velocity scale that can characterize the different properties of the turbulent flow within the canyon, which depends strongly on the way in which turbulence from the outer flow is entrained into the cavity and carried round by the mean flow. The results from this study will be useful in developing simple parametrizations for momentum exchange in the urban canopy, in situations where the street geometry consists principally of relatively long, uniform streets arranged in grid-like patterns; they are unlikely to be applicable to sparse geometries composed of isolated three-dimensional obstacles.     

植被微气象的数值模拟

综合考虑梯度输送和阵性穿透作用，并对植被上方的过渡层作适当处理，提出了植被微气象的一阶闭合模型。它对温、湿、风等物理量垂直分布的模拟精度良好。引用系统优化理论和方法，对模型中参数作多维非线性搜索，结果客观可靠。由于植物本身的调节适应能力和反馈作用，大气与植被间的动量与水热交换机制和过程不尽相同。在动量输送过程中，梯度产生项和阵性穿透皆不可忽视，尤其在群体下部，更为重要；而在热量和水分输送过程中，阵性穿透作用在低矮密集植被中的贡献甚微，梯度产生项起主导作用。     

An Analytical one-Dimensional Second-Order Closure Model of Turbulence Statistics and the Lagrangian Time Scale Within and Above Plant Canopies of Arbitrary Structure

An analytical one-dimensional second-order closure model is developed to describe the within canopy velocity variances, turbulent intensities, dissipation rates, Lagrangian time scale and Lagrangian far field diffusivities for vegetation canopies of arbitrary structure and density. The model incorporates and extends the model of momentum transfer developed by Massman (1997) and the model of within canopy velocity variances developed by Weil (unpublished) from the second-order closure model of Wilson and Shaw (1977). Model predictions of within and above canopy velocity variances, turbulent intensities, dissipation rates and the Lagrangian time scale are in reasonable agreement with previously measured or estimated values for these parameters. The present model suggests that the Lagrangian time scale and the far field diffusivity could be strongly dependent upon foliage structure and density through the foliage effects on the velocity variances. A simple formulation for the Lagrangian time scale at canopy height is derived from model results. Taken as a whole, the present model may provide a relatively simple way to incorporate turbulence parameters into models of soil/canopy/atmosphere mass transfer.     

Numerical study on dry deposition processes in canopy layer

A coupling model between the canopy layer (CL) and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) for the study of dry deposition velocity is developed. The model consists of six parts: chemical species conservation equation including absorptive factor; the species uptake action including detailed vertical variation of absorptive element in CL; momen-tum exchange in CL which is represented by a first-order closure momentum equation with an additional larger-scale diffusive term; momentum exchange in ABL which is described by a complete set of the ABL turbulent statistic parameters; absorptivity (or solubility or reflection) at the surface including effects of the physical and chemi-cal characters of the species, land type, seasonal and diurnal variations of the meteorological variables; and deposition velocity derived by distributions of the species with height in CL. Variational rules of the concentration and deposi-tion velocity with both height and time are simulated with the model for both corn and forest canopies. Results pre-dicted with the bulk deposition velocity derived in the paper consist well with experimental data.     

Flume Experiments on Turbulent Flows Across Gaps of Permeable and Impermeable Boundaries

Laser Doppler anemometery and laser-induced fluorescence techniques were used to explore the spatial structure of the flow within and above finite cavities created within porous and solid media. The cavities within these two configurations were identical in size and were intended to mimic flow disturbances created by finite gaps and forest clearing. Because flows over permeable boundaries differ from their solid counterparts, the study here addresses how these differences in boundary conditions produce differences in, (i) bulk flow properties including the mean vorticity within and adjacent to the gaps, (ii) second-order statistics such as the standard deviations and turbulent stresses, (iii) the relative importance of advective to turbulent stress terms across various regions within and above the gaps, and (iv) the local imbalance between ejections and sweeps and momentum transport efficiencies of updrafts and downdrafts. Both configurations exhibited a primary recirculation zone of comparable dimensions inside the gap. The mean vorticity spawned at the upstream corner of the gap was more intense for the solid configuration when compared to its porous counterpart. The free-shear layer spawned from the upstream corner-edge deeper into the gap for the porous configuration. The momentum flux at the interface within and above the gap was enhanced by a factor of 1.5–2.0 over its upstream value, and this enhancement zone was much broader in size for the porous configuration. For the turbulent transport terms in the longitudinal and vertical mean momentum balances, these transport terms were significant inside the gap for both boundary configurations when compared to their upstream counterpart. The effectiveness of using incomplete cumulant expansion methods to describe the momentum transport efficiencies, and the relative contributions of ejections and sweeps to turbulent stresses, especially in this zone, were also demonstrated. The flatness factor for both velocity components, often used as a measure of intermittency, was highest in the vicinity of the upstream corner in both configurations. However, immediately following the downstream corner, the flatness factor remained large for the porous configuration, in contrast to its solid configuration counterpart.     

Verification of a One-Dimensional Model of $$\hbox {CO}_{2}$$ Atmospheric Transport Inside and Above a Forest Canopy Using Observations at the Norunda Research Station

A model of \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) atmospheric transport in vegetated canopies is tested against measurements of the flow, as well as \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) concentrations at the Norunda research station located inside a mixed pine–spruce forest. We present the results of simulations of wind-speed profiles and \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) concentrations inside and above the forest canopy with a one-dimensional model of profiles of the turbulent diffusion coefficient above the canopy accounting for the influence of the roughness sub-layer on turbulent mixing according to Harman and Finnigan (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 129:323–351, 2008; hereafter HF08). Different modelling approaches are used to define the turbulent exchange coefficients for momentum and concentration inside the canopy: (1) the modified HF08 theory—numerical solution of the momentum and concentration equations with a non-constant distribution of leaf area per unit volume; (2) empirical parametrization of the turbulent diffusion coefficient using empirical data concerning the vertical profiles of the Lagrangian time scale and root-mean-square deviation of the vertical velocity component. For neutral, daytime conditions, the second-order turbulence model is also used. The flexibility of the empirical model enables the best fit of the simulated \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) concentrations inside the canopy to the observations, with the results of simulations for daytime conditions inside the canopy layer only successful provided the respiration fluxes are properly considered. The application of the developed model for radiocarbon atmospheric transport released in the form of \(^{14}\hbox {CO}_{2}\) is presented and discussed.     

The Effect of Source Distribution on Bulk Scalar Transfer between a Rough Land Surface and the Atmosphere

We investigate the effect of source distribution on the bulk transfer of passive scalars between rough, vegetated land surfaces and the atmosphere, using data from a wind-tunnel experiment in which passive heat was emitted from both the underlying surface and canopy elements of a three-dimensional regular bluff-body array. The experimental results are compared with a simple one-dimensional, two-source model for scalar transfer. We find that: (1) the observed scalar transfer resistance across the boundary layer at the underlying surface is simply related to flat-plate theory by a constant of 0.62, despite the complexity of the turbulent flow within the wind-tunnel canopy; (2) one-dimensional gradient-transfer theory, even with extensions to account for the non-local nature of turbulent transfer within the canopy, does not describe the observed details of scalar concentration gradients in the highly three-dimensional canopy flow, but does provide a reasonable framework for bulk scalar transfer between the composite ground-canopy surface and the flow above the canopy; (3) the kB ⁻¹ parameter (which accounts for bulk excess resistance to scalar transfer over momentum transfer) is highly sensitive to scalar source partition between ground and canopy.     

Application of transilient turbulent theory to study interactions between the atmospheric boundary layer and forest canopies

The new Forest-Land-Atmosphere ModEl called FLAME is presented. The first-order, nonlocal turbulence closure called transilient turbulence theory (Stull, 1993) is applied to study the interactions between a forested land-surface and the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The transilient scheme is used for unequal vertical grid spacing and includes the effects of drag, wake turbulence, and interference to vertical mixing by plant elements. Radiation transfer within the vegetation and the equations for the energy balance at the leaf surface have been taken from Norman (1979). Among others, the model predicts profiles of air temperature, humidity and wind velocity within the ABL, sensible and latent heat fluxes from the soil and the vegetation, the stomata and aerodynamic resistances, as well as profiles of temperature and water content in the soil. Preliminary studies carried out for a cloud free day and idealized initial conditions are presented. The canopy height is 30 m within a vertical domain of 3 km. The model is able to capture some of the effects usually observed within and above forested areas, including the relative wind speed maximum in the trunk space and the counter gradient-fluxes in the lower part of the plant stand. Of special interest is the determination of the location and magnitude of the turbulent mixing between model layers, which permits one to identify the effects of large eddies transporting momentum and scalar quantities into the canopy. A comparison between model simulations and field measurements will be presented in a future paper.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Organized Structures within and above Explicitly Resolved Cube Arrays

Large-eddy simulations have been performed for fully developed turbulent flow within and above explicitly resolved simple cube arrays. The results from our model, hereafter LES-CITY, are shown to agree with laboratory experiments. We investigated the systematic influence of cube density on turbulent flow characteristics by performing numerical experiments for cube areal densities from 0 to 44%. The following results were obtained: (1) The dispersive momentum flux was quite large within the canopy layer due to a mean stream re-circulation, whereas it was smaller above the canopy. The spatial variation of temporally averaged momentum in the roughness sub-layer was 20% or less of the total kinematic surface drag. (2) The temporally and spatially-averaged flow structure confirmed the existence of conventionally described canyon flow regimes; isolated, interfacial, and wake. However, the intermittency of the canyon flow for all cube densities was quite large and the stream patterns were never persistent. (3) Turbulent organized structures (TOS) similar to those observed in turbulent surface-layer flows were simulated, which are characterized by longitudinally-elongated low speed streaks and the corresponding shorter streamwise vortices. The streaks in sparse and dense canopy flows were likely to be aligned to the street line and to the roof lines, respectively. Such heterogeneity of TOS partially accounts for the large spatial variation of momentum flux. (4) In contrast to the mixing layer analogy of vegetation flows, the TOS and the resulting turbulent statistics of urban flow above the canopy resembled those in surface layers. The recirculation within the canopy significantly influenced the turbulent statistical properties.