Development and Application of an Urban Tree Air Quality Score for Photochemical Pollution Episodes Using the Birmingham, United Kingdom, Area as a Case Study

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• 作者：Rossa G. Donovan ; Hope E. Stewart ; Susan M. Owen ; A. Robert MacKenzie ; and C. Nicholas Hewitt
• 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
• 出版年：2005
• 出版时间：September 1, 2005
• 年：2005
• 卷：39
• 期：17
• 页码：6730 - 6738
• 全文大小：379K
• 年卷期：v.39,no.17(September 1, 2005)
• ISSN：1520-5851

文摘

An atmospheric chemistry model (CiTTyCAT) is used toquantify the effects of trees on urban air quality in scenariosof high photochemical pollution. The combined effects ofboth pollutant deposition to and emission of biogenic volatileorganic compounds (BVOC) from the urban forest areconsidered, and the West Midlands, metropolitan area inthe UK is used as a case study. While all trees can be beneficialto air quality in terms of the deposition of O₃, NO₂, CO,and HNO₃, some trees have the potential to contribute tothe formation of O₃ due to the reaction of BVOC andNO_x. A number of model scenarios are used to developan urban tree air quality score (UTAQS) that ranks trees inorder of their potential to improve air quality. Of the 30species considered, pine, larch, and silver birch have thegreatest potential to improve urban air quality, whileoaks, willows, and poplars can worsen downwind air qualityif planted in very large numbers. The UTAQS classificationis designed with practitioners in mind, to help themachieve sustainable urban air quality. The UTAQSclassification is applicable to all urban areas of the UKand other mid-latitude, temperate climate zones that havetree species common to those found in UK urban areas.The modeling approach used here is directly applicable toall areas of the world given the appropriate input data.It provides a tool that can help to achieve future sustainableurban air quality.