Assessing the relationship among urban trees, nitrogen dioxide, and respiratory health

Rao, Meenakshi; George, Linda A.; Rosenstiel, Todd N.; Shandas, Vivek; Dinno, Alexis

Assessing the relationship among urban trees, nitrogen dioxide, and respiratory health

2014

Rao, Meenakshi | George, Linda A. | Rosenstiel, Todd N. | Shandas, Vivek | Dinno, Alexis

Modeled atmospheric pollution removal by trees based on eddy flux, leaf, and chamber studies of relatively few species may not scale up to adequately assess landscape-level air pollution effects of the urban forest. A land use regression (LUR) model (R2 = 0.70) based on NO(2) measured at 144 sites in Portland, Oregon (USA), after controlling for roads, railroads, and elevation, estimated every 10 ha (20%) of tree canopy within 400 m of a site was associated with a 0.57 ppb decrease in NO(2). Using BenMAP and a 200 m resolution NO(2) model, we estimated that the NO(2) reduction associated with trees in Portland could result in significantly fewer incidences of respiratory problems, providing a $7 million USD benefit annually. These in-situ urban measurements predict a significantly higher reduction of NO(2) by urban trees than do existing models. Further studies are needed to maximize the potential of urban trees in improving air quality.

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