Floristic Summary of North American Plant Species in the Air Pollution Literature

Author(s):  
J. P. Bennett
2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (14) ◽  
pp. 8692-8700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna R. Mackie ◽  
Paul I. Palmer ◽  
James M. Barlow ◽  
Douglas P. Finch ◽  
Paul Novelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Jiban Jyoti Das

Industrialization is an important aspect of a growing economy. However, rapid industrialization has caused many serious impacts on the environment. One such impact is the deteriorating air quality, especially around industries. It is said that afforestation is the best and simplest way for improving the air quality. Also, trees and plants have been increasingly used as filters for dust particles around the home, traffic roads, etc. In scientific studies, it has also been found that trees and plant leaves can be used to assess the ambient air quality by an index called the Air pollution tolerance index. A literature search has been done on the scientific database like Sciencedirect and Researchgate to review the existing knowledge of Air pollution tolerance index and to find the tolerant and sensitive species based on it so that these species can be selectively planted to assess the ambient air quality and also to develop a better green belt around refineries and industries in Assam. The study has reviewed the linkage of the impact of air pollution on leaves of plants and trees through scientific evidence. Through such scientific reviews, the most tolerant species of trees and plants were chosen with the condition that it can grow under the climatic condition of Assam. The recommendation and suggestions of tolerant tree and plant species can be used for specific species plantations for developing green belts around refineries and industries in Assam. The recommendation of sensitive species can be used for monitoring ambient air quality with reference to other standard procedures. KEYWORDS: Air pollution tolerance index, Industries, Air- pollution, Green belt


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5367-5390 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kelly ◽  
P. A. Makar ◽  
D. A. Plummer

Abstract. Ten year simulations of North American current and future air-quality were carried out using a regional air-quality model driven by a regional climate model, in turn driven by a general circulation model. Three separate summer scenarios were performed: a scenario representing the years 1997 to 2006, and two SRES A2 climate scenarios for the years 2041 to 2050. The first future climate scenario makes use of 2002 anthropogenic precursor emissions, and the second applied emissions scaling factors derived from the IPCC Representative Concentration Pathway 6 (RCP 6) scenario to estimate emissions for 2050 from existing 2020 projections. Ten-year averages of ozone and PM2.5 at North American monitoring network stations were used to evaluate the model's current chemical climatology. The model was found to have a similar performance for ozone as when driven by an operational weather forecast model. The PM2.5 predictions had larger negative biases, likely resulting from the absence of rainwater evaporation, and from sub-regional negative biases in the surface temperature fields, in the version of the climate model used here. The differences between the two future climate simulations and the current climate simulation were used to predict the changes to air-quality that might be expected in a future warmer climate, if anthropogenic precursor emissions remain constant at their current levels, versus if the RCP 6 emissions controls were adopted. Metrics of concentration, human health, and ecosystem damage were compared for the simulations. The scenario with future climate and current anthropogenic emissions resulted in worse air-quality than for current conditions – that is, the effect of climate-change alone, all other factors being similar, would be a worsening of air-quality. These effects are spatially inhomogeneous, with the magnitude and sign of the changes varying with region. The scenario with future climate and RCP 6 emissions for 2050 resulted in an improved air-quality, with decreases in key pollutant concentrations, in acute human mortality associated with air-pollution, and in sulphur and ozone deposition to the ecosystem. The positive outcomes of the RCP 6 emissions reductions were found to be of greater magnitude than the negative outcomes of climate change alone. The RCP 6 scenario however resulted in an increase in the deposition of nitrogen, as a result of increased ammonia emissions expected in that scenario, compared to current ammonia emissions levels. The results of the study raise the possibility that simultaneous reductions of greenhouse gases and air pollution precursors may further reduce air pollution levels, with the added benefits of an immediate reduction in the impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health. Further scenarios to investigate this possibility are therefore recommended.


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