{"id":30706,"date":"2023-03-06T10:26:34","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T10:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=30706"},"modified":"2023-03-06T10:26:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T10:26:34","slug":"air-quality-urban-areas-improved-with-mixture-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/air-quality-urban-areas-improved-with-mixture-trees\/30706\/","title":{"rendered":"Air quality in urban areas improved with a mixture of trees"},"content":{"rendered":"
Trees and other greenery in urban areas are important for the well-being of residents. Leaves and needles on trees have the ability to purify the air from pollutants, improving air quality and reducing exposure to hazardous substances in the air. Generally, conifers are better than broadleaved trees at purifying air from pollutants, but deciduous trees may be better at capturing particle-bound pollution.<\/p>\n
To find out which trees are best for improving air quality, researchers from the University of Gothenburg collected leaves and needles from 11 different trees growing in the same place in the Gothenburg Botanical Garden\u2019s arboretum. The team analysed which substances they captured and concluded that air purification depended on the type of pollutant involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tree collection provides a unique opportunity to test many different tree species with similar environmental conditions and exposure to air pollutants,\u201d said Jenny Klingberg, a researcher at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden.<\/p>\n
The work, \u2018Differences in accumulation of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) among eleven broadleaved and conifer tree species<\/a>,\u2019 is published in Ecological Indicators. <\/em><\/p>\n Cities often have very poor air quality due to rapidly increasing urbanisation. Over the last decade, many cities have seen continuously high and rising levels of air pollution. The majority of air pollutants are emitted via human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and vehicle exhaust fumes.<\/p>\n Improving air quality is vital, as it has been proven that exposure to air pollutants can reduce quality of life and life expectancy<\/a>. Regarded as the largest single environmental health risk, air pollution worsens breathing conditions, and can even lead to serious conditions such as cardiovascular diseases.<\/p>\n The researchers analysed 32 different pollutants, some of which are bound to particles of various sizes, and others that are gaseous. The project focused on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which, in cities, are mainly released due to incomplete combustion in engines.<\/p>\nThe importance of improving air quality in urban areas<\/h3>\n
A total of 32 different pollutants were analysed<\/h3>\n