Role of photo- and biodegradation of two PAHs on leaves: Modelling the impact on air quality ecosystem services provided by urban trees

2020 ◽  
Vol 739 ◽  
pp. 139893
Author(s):  
Elisa Terzaghi ◽  
Flavia De Nicola ◽  
Bruno E.L. Cerabolini ◽  
Rosa Posada-Baquero ◽  
Josè-J. Ortega-Calvo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The Role of Selected Ecosystem Services in Different Farming Systems in Poland Regarding the Differentiation of Agricultural Land Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6673
Author(s):  
Lidia Luty ◽  
Kamila Musiał ◽  
Monika Zioło
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Supporting Soil ◽  
Management Method ◽  
The Impact

The functioning of various agroecosystems is nowadays shaped by different farming systems, which may impair their functions, as well as being beneficial to them. The benefits include ecosystem services, defined as economic and noneconomic values gained by humans from ecosystems, through supporting soil formation and nutrient circulation, and the impact of agriculture on climate and biodiversity. Their mutual flow and various disturbances depend on the agroecosystem’s management method, which is associated with the type of management of agricultural land (AL) in individual farms. This paper raises a problem of transformation in the structure of three main farming systems in Poland, in 2004–2018, in relation to the implementation of 16 selected ecosystem services and their scale. Special attention was given to organic farming, as the most environmentally friendly and sustainable. The analysis demonstrates the increase in ALs in that type of production during the analyzed period of time. Disparities of transformation associated with the type of agricultural system were noticeable at the regional level, which were presented in 16 Polish voivodeships. The results of the analysis confirm that the organic system, which is an important carrier of various ecosystem services, gained a stable position. Moreover, areas with integrated farming still do not exceed 0.5% of total agricultural lands in such voivodeships. The analysis of factors influencing the deterioration or disappearance of selected environmental services characterizing agricultural systems indicates the need to depart from an intensive conventional management system.

scholarly journals Understanding Public Intentions to Pay for the Conservation of Urban Trees Using the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9228
Author(s):  
Chyi-Rong Chiou ◽  
Wei-Hsun Chan ◽  
Jiunn-Cheng Lin ◽  
Meng-Shan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Theory Of Planned Behavior ◽  
Planned Behavior ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Extended Theory ◽  
The Impact

Urban trees could provide a variety of ecosystem services. However, they require conservation to sustain a healthy and consistent provision of services. This study applies an extended theory of planned behavior (ETPB) to understand residents’ pay intention for conserving urban trees. In order to explore the impact of the public perception of urban trees, two constructs such as perceived usefulness and perceived tree benefits have been added to the TPB model. This study conducted a questionnaire survey on Taipei city residents and received 364 valid responses. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analysis of the model. The results show that residents’ perceived usefulness and perceived tree benefits of urban trees have a significantly positive impact on public attitude toward protecting urban trees. Individuals’ intention to pay towards conservation of urban trees is, on the other hand, affected by subjective norm, attitude, perceived behavioral control, and perceived usefulness. Thus, with education and promotion of tree usefulness and benefits of ecosystem services, it is helpful to improve residents’ attitudes regarding the protection of urban trees and increase their intention to pay for urban tree conservation.

scholarly journals Urban Trees and Their Impact on Local Ozone Concentration—A Microclimate Modeling Study

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Simon ◽  
Joachim Fallmann ◽  
Tim Kropp ◽  
Holger Tost ◽  
Michael Bruse
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Ozone Concentration ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Box Model ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Isoprene Emission ◽  
The Impact

Climate sensitive urban planning involves the implementation of green infrastructure as one measure to mitigate excessive heat in urban areas. Depending on thermal conditions, certain trees tend to emit more biogenic volatile organic compounds, which act as precursors for ozone formation, thus hampering air quality. Combining a theoretical approach from a box model analysis and microscale modeling from the microclimate model ENVI-met, we analyze this relationship for a selected region in Germany and provide the link to air quality prediction and climate sensitive urban planning. A box model study was conducted, indicating higher ozone levels with higher isoprene concentration, especially in NO-saturated atmospheres. ENVI-met sensitivity studies showed that different urban layouts strongly determine local isoprene emissions of vegetation, with leaf temperature, rather than photosynthetic active radiation, being the dominant factor. The impact of isoprene emission on the ozone in complex urban environments was simulated for an urban area for a hot summer day with and without isoprene. A large isoprene-induced relative ozone increase was found over the whole model area. On selected hot spots we find a clear relationship between urban layout, proximity to NOx emitters, tree-species-dependent isoprene emission capacity, and increases in ozone concentration, rising up to 500% locally.

scholarly journals Does Environmental Inspection Led by the Central Government Improve the Air Quality in China? The Moderating Role of Public Engagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Xu ◽  
Meng Tian ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
Guohu Xu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Heating Period ◽  
Air Quality Improvement ◽  
The Impact

The severe air pollution in China has imperiled public health and resulted in substantial economic loss. To tackle the unprecedented pollution challenges, China has launched a campaign-based environmental inspection over all regions to impel local governments’ actual pollution abatement. At the same time, with the public’s awakening awareness about environmental protection, the public has also played a particularly vital role in this inspection. Under this circumstance, the study tries to reveal the impact of Environmental Inspection led by the Central Government (EICG) on air quality improvement, and to examine the role of public engagement in their relationship. Specifically, utilizing daily data covering 249 prefecture-level cities in China from 1 June 2015 to 31 May 2018, this study employed multiple regression models and then found that due to the implementation of EICG, the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and NO2 decline by 2.642 μg/m3, 6.088 μg/m3, 1.357 μg/m3 and 1.443 μg/m3, respectively, and the air quality index decreases by 2.4 in total, which implies that EICG can improve the air quality to a great extent. However, the coefficients for major variables change from negative to positive, suggesting that an attenuation effect of EICG on air quality improvement exists in Chinese institutional background. Meanwhile, public engagement is shown to enhance the positive association between EICG and air quality improvement. Additionally, further analysis demonstrates that EICG promotes the improvement in air quality up to three months after the inspection in cities during the heating period, while the positive effect has existed during one month before the inspection in cities during the non-heating period. Additionally, in contrast to the instant effect in cities not specially monitored, there is a lagged effect of EICG in controlling the air pollution in cities specially monitored.

The impact of hedges maturation on soil organic carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Biffi ◽  
Pippa j Chapman ◽  
Richard P Grayson ◽  
Guy Ziv
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Soc Stock ◽  
The Impact

<p>Hedgerows can provide a wide range of regulatory ecosystem services within improved grassland landscapes, such as soil function improvement, soil erosion reduction, biodiversity, water quality, and flood prevention and mitigation. Because of their beneficial effects, farmers are incentivised to retain their hedgerows and the planting of hedges has been encouraged in agri-environment schemes in Europe. Today, hedgerow planting it is one of the most popular practices adopted in the Countryside and Environmental Stewardships in England. The role of hedgerows in climate change mitigation has been increasingly recognized over the past decade, however, while other services have been more widely studies, less is known about hedges soil organic carbon (SOC) storage capacity. The Resilient Dairy Landscapes project aims at identifying strategies to reconcile dairy systems productivity and environment in the face of climate change, and with the Committee on Climate Change calling for a 30% - 40% increase in hedgerow length by 2050 in the UK, it is important to determine the role of hedgerows in meeting Net Zero targets. In this study, we estimate the extent of SOC stock beneath hedges and how it may vary with depth, hedge management and age, as well as how it may compare to SOC stock in adjacent agricultural fields. Thus, we measured SOC under 2-4 years old, 10 years old, 37 years old, and 40+ years old hedgerows at 10 cm intervals up to 50 cm of depth under 32 hedges located on dairy farms in Cumbria, UK. We found that the time since planting and the depth of samples play a crucial role in the amount of SOC stock stored underneath hedgerows when accounting for differences in soil type. Our results contribute measurable outcomes towards the estimate of targets for Net Zero 2050 and the extent of ecosystem services provision by hedgerow planting in agricultural landscapes.  </p>

scholarly journals Impact of Technology Innovation on Air Quality—An Empirical Study on New Energy Vehicles in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4025
Author(s):  
Haoxuan Hu ◽  
Yuchen Zhang ◽  
Xi Rao ◽  
Yinghua Jin
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Technology Innovation ◽  
Fixed Effect Model ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Energy Vehicles

China’s high economic growth has been accompanied by deteriorating air quality in recent decades. This paper aims to explore the relation between technology innovation (defined as the invention patent counts of each region) of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China and air quality. A panel fixed effect model is used to analyze this relation and the mediating effect methods are used to examine the role of the output of NEVs (defined as the annual production quantity of NEVs in each region (unit: thousand)). The results of our study show: (1) the impact of the technology innovation of NEVs on air quality is positive and statistically significant; (2) the mediating role of the output of NEVs is confirmed in the relation between NEVs innovation and air quality improvement; (3) the technology innovation of NEVs has a more notable impact on the air quality in the regions with higher vehicle and vessel tax (VVT). The present study implicates for the first time that the technology innovation of NEVs can enhance air quality with the mediating role of the output of NEVs and the moderating role of VVT.

scholarly journals Assessment of COVID-19 Lockdown Impact on the Air Quality in Eastern Spain: PM and BTX in Urban, Suburban and Rural Sites Exposed to Different Emissions

Atmosphere ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Milagros Ródenas ◽  
Rubén Soler ◽  
Esther Borrás ◽  
Teresa Vera ◽  
José Jaime Diéguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Benzene Toluene ◽  
Rural Sites ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Urban Sites

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread globally, and severe measures to control it were implemented. This study investigates the impact of the lockdown on the air quality of three provinces in the Valencia region, eastern Spain, in the years 2015–2020, focusing on particulate matter (PM). A thorough statistical analysis using different approaches is conducted. Hourly patterns are also assessed. In addition, the role of meteorological parameters on PM is explored. The results indicate an overall PM10 reduction of 16.5% when comparing the lockdown in 2020 and the 2015–2019 period, while PM2.5 increased by 3.1%. As expected, urban zones experienced higher reductions than suburban zones, which experienced a PM concentration increase. The impact of the drastic drops of benzene, toluene and xylene (77.4%, 58.0% and 61.8%, respectively) on the PM values observed in urban sites is discussed. Our study provides insights on the effect of activity changes over a wide region covering a variety of air quality stations, urban, suburban and rural, and different emission types. The results of this work are a valuable reference and suggest the need for considering different factors when establishing scientific air pollution control strategies.

scholarly journals The impact of chlorine chemistry combined with heterogeneous N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> reactions on air quality in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiajie Yang ◽  
Qiaoqiao Wang ◽  
Nan Ma ◽  
Weiwei Hu ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
Heterogeneous Reaction ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
The North ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Multiple Data Sets ◽  
The Sichuan Basin ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The heterogeneous reaction of N2O5 on Cl-containing aerosols (N2O5 − ClNO2 chemistry) plays a key role in chlorine activation, NOx recycling and consequently O3 formation. In this study, we use the GEOS-Chem model with additional anthropogenic and biomass burning chlorine emissions combined with updated parameterizations for N2O5 − ClNO2 chemistry (i.e. the uptake coefficient of N2O5 (γN2O5) and the ClNO2 yield (φClNO2)) to investigate the impacts of chlorine chemistry on air quality in China, the role of N2O5 − ClNO2 chemistry, as well as their sensitivities to chlorine emissions and parameterizations for γN2O5 and φClNO2. The model evaluation with multiple data sets observed across China demonstrated significant improvement especially regarding the simulation of Cl−, N2O5 and ClNO2 with the updates in chlorine emissions and N2O5 − ClNO2 chemistry. Total tropospheric chlorine chemistry could increase annual mean MDA8 O3 by up to 4.5 ppbv but decrease PM2.5 by up to 7.9 μg m−3 in China, 83 % and 90 % of which could be attributed to the effect of N2O5 – ClNO2 chemistry. The heterogeneous uptake of N2O5 on chloride-containing aerosol surfaces is an important loss pathway of N2O5 as well as a important source of O3, and hence is particularly useful in elucidating the commonly seen ozone underestimations. The importance of chlorine chemistry largely depends on both chlorine emissions and the parameterizations for N2O5 – ClNO2 chemistry. With the additional chlorine emissions annual mean maximum daily 8-hour average (MDA8) O3 in China could be increased by up to 3.5 ppbv. The corresponding effect on PM2.5 concentrations varies largely with regions, with an increase of up to 4.5 μg m−3 in the North China Plain but a decrease of up to 3.7 μg m−3 in the Sichuan Basin. On the other hand, even with the same chlorine emissions, the effects on MDA8 O3 and PM2.5 in China could differ by 48 % and 27 %, respectively between different parameterizations.

scholarly journals Biological Legacies and Rockfall: The Protective Effect of a Windthrown Forest

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1141
Author(s):  
Maximiliano Costa ◽  
Niccolò Marchi ◽  
Francesco Bettella ◽  
Paola Bolzon ◽  
Frédéric Berger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Shielding Effect ◽  
Mountain Forests ◽  
Protective Function ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
Biological Legacies ◽  
The Impact

Windstorms represent one of the main large-scale disturbances that shape the European landscape and influence its forest structure, so post-event restoration activities start to gain a major role in mountainous forest management. After a disturbance event, biological legacies may enhance or maintain multiple ecosystem services of mountain forests such as protection against natural hazards, biodiversity conservation, or erosion mitigation. However, the conservation of all these ecosystem services after stand-replacing events could go against traditional management practices, such as salvage logging. Thus far, the impact of salvage logging and removal of biological legacies on the protective function of mountain stands has been poorly studied. Structural biological legacies may provide protection for natural regeneration and may also increase the terrain roughness providing a shielding effect against gravitational hazards like rockfall. The aim of this project is to understand the dynamics of post-windthrow recovery processes and to investigate how biological legacies affect the multifunctionality of mountain forests, in particular the protective function. To observe the role of biological legacies we performed 3000 simulations of rockfall activity on windthrown areas. Results show the active role of biological legacies in preventing gravitational hazards, providing a barrier effect and an energy reduction effect on rockfall activity. To conclude, we underline how forest management should take into consideration the protective function of structural legacies. A suggestion is to avoid salvage logging in order to maintain the multifunctionality of damaged stands during the recovery process.

scholarly journals Forty years of improvements in European air quality: the role of EU policy–industry interplay

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (14) ◽  
pp. 20245-20285 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Crippa ◽  
G. Janssens-Maenhout ◽  
F. Dentener ◽  
D. Guizzardi ◽  
K. Sindelarova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Emission Control ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
Current Technology ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Abstract. The EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) v4.3 global anthropogenic emissions inventory of several gaseous (SO2, NOx, CO, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and NH3) and particulate (PM10, PM2.5, black and organic carbon (BC and OC)) air pollutants for the period 1970–2010 is used to develop retrospective air pollution emission scenarios to quantify the roles and contributions of changes in fuels consumption, technology, end-of-pipe emission reduction measures and their resulting impact on health and crop yields. This database presents changes in activity data, fuels and air pollution abatement technology for the past 4 decades, using international statistics and following guidelines for bottom-up emission inventory at the Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels with region-specific default values. With two further retrospective scenarios we assess (1) the impact of the technology and end-of-pipe (EOP) reduction measures in the European Union (EU) by considering a stagnation of technology with constant emission factors from 1970 and with no further abatement measures and improvement in European emissions standards, but fuel consumption occurring at historical pace, and (2) the impact of increased fuel consumption by considering unchanged energy use with constant fuel consumption since 1970, but technological development and end-of-pipe reductions. Our scenario analysis focuses on the three most important and most regulated sectors (power generation, the manufacturing industry and road transport), which are subject of multi-pollutant EU Air Quality regulations. If technology and European EOP reduction measures had stagnated at 1970 levels, EU air quality in 2010 would have suffered from 129 % higher SO2, 71 % higher NOx and 69 % higher PM2.5 emissions, demonstrating the large role of technology in reducing emissions in 2010. However, if fuel consumption had remained constant starting in 1970, the EU would have benefited from current technology and emission control standards, with reductions in NOx by even 13 % more. Such further savings are not observed for SO2 and PM2.5. If the EU consumed the same amount of fuels as in 1970 but with the current technology and emission control standards, then the emissions of SO2 and PM2.5 would be 42 % respectively 10 % higher. This scenario shows the importance for air quality of abandoning heavy residual fuel oil and shifting fuel types (from, e.g., coal to gas) in the EU. A reduced-form TM5-FASST (Fast Screening Scenario Tool based on the global chemical Transport Model 5) is applied to calculate regional and global levels of aerosol and ozone concentrations and to assess the impact of air quality improvements on human health and crop yield loss, showing substantial impacts of export of EU technologies and standards to other world regions.

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