In “Roadside trees trap asthma-inducing pollutants“, a new study challenges the popular notion that having more trees automatically means having cleaner air. A new study looked at the wooded areas net to roadways. A common pollutant from vehicle exhaust, nitrogen dioxide, may be trapping it and causing the ground levels to as much as 21%. Nitrogen Dioxide can make it harder to breathe for people with respiratory disorders.
Roadside trees trap asthma-inducing pollutants #BCSFH20 https://t.co/yDXH9lJ4qL
— Megan (@elreymeg) September 13, 2017
Urban Ecologist Heikki Setälä from the University of Helsinki measured air quality in and around 10 greenbelts. After taking these measurements, they found that percentages of Nitrogen Dioxide were on average; 14% higher than in the fields some distance away from it. Setälä suggested that wind might be the cause in the study. The denseness of the trees make it more difficult for pollutants to disperse.
I was attracted to this article because of how it challenges the belief that to combat climate change and pollution, we just have to plant more trees. We have to be more strategic with how we implement environmentally friendly infrastructure. As noted by Sara Janhäll, who says, “We can use vegetation much more than we do, but the design can be totally wrong, and then you won’t get an air pollution-reducing effect.”
