The role of a peri-urban forest on air quality improvement in the Mexico City megalopolis

Baumgardner, Darrel; Varela, Sebastian; Escobedo, Francisco J.; Chacalo, Alicia; Ochoa, Carlos

The role of a peri-urban forest on air quality improvement in the Mexico City megalopolis

2012

Baumgardner, Darrel | Varela, Sebastian | Escobedo, Francisco J. | Chacalo, Alicia | Ochoa, Carlos

Air quality improvement by a forested, peri-urban national park was quantified by combining the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) and the Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) models. We estimated the ecosystem-level annual pollution removal function of the park’s trees, shrub and grasses using pollution concentration data for carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O₃), and particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM₁₀), modeled meteorological and pollution variables, and measured forest structure data. Ecosystem-level O₃ and CO removal and formation were also analyzed for a representative month. Total annual air quality improvement of the park’s vegetation was approximately 0.02% for CO, 1% for O₃, and 2% for PM₁₀, of the annual concentrations for these three pollutants. Results can be used to understand the air quality regulation ecosystem services of peri-urban forests and regional dynamics of air pollution emissions from major urban areas.

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