scholarly journals How Does Leaf Surface Micromorphology of Different Trees Impact Their Ability to Capture Particulate Matter?

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weikang Zhang ◽  
Zhi Zhang ◽  
Huan Meng ◽  
Tong Zhang

Particulate matter (PM), including PM10 and PM2.5, has a major impact on air quality and public health. It has been shown that trees can capture PM and improve air quality. In this study, we used two-way ANOVA to investigate the significance of micro-morphological leaf surface characteristics of green trees in capturing PM at different parks in Beijing. The results show that leaf structure significantly impacts the ability of plants to capture PM. Pinus tabuliformis Carr. and Pinus bungeana Zucc. were mainly impacted by the density of stomata, waxy cuticle, and epidermis, while the major contributor to PM retention in other test trees, including Acer truncatum Bunge, Salix matsudana Koid., Populus tomentosa Carr. and Ginkgo biloba Linn. was leaf roughness. There were significant variations in leaf-droplet contact angle (representative of leaf wettability) and the ability of trees to capture PM (p < 0.05): the bigger the contact angle, the less able the plant was to capture particulate matter.

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 504
Author(s):  
Ewa Papierowska ◽  
Jan Szatyłowicz ◽  
Stanisław Samborski ◽  
Joanna Szewińska ◽  
Elżbieta Różańska

Leaf wettability has an impact on a plant’s ability to retain water on its leaf surface, which in turn has many environmental consequences. In the case of the potato leaf (Solanum tuberosum L.), water on the leaf surface may contribute to the development of a fungal disease. If fungal disease is caused, this may reduce the size of potato harvests, which contribute significantly to meeting global food demand. The aim of this study was to assess the leaf wettability of five potato cultivars (i.e., Bryza, Lady Claire, Rudawa, Russet Burbank, Sweet Caroline) in the context of its direct and indirect impact on potato yield. Leaf wettability was assessed on the basis of contact angle measurements using a sessile drop method with an optical goniometer. For Bryza and Rudawa cultivars, which showed, respectively, the highest and the lowest contact angle values, light microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy analyses were performed. The results of the contact angle measurements and microscopic image analyses of the potato leaf surfaces indicated that the level of wettability was closely related to the type of trichomes on the leaf and their density. Therefore, higher resistance of the Rudawa cultivar to biotic stress conditions could be the result of the presence of two glandular trichome types (VI and VII), which produce and secrete metabolites containing various sticky and/or toxic chemicals that may poison or repel herbivores.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
石婕 SHI Jie ◽  
刘庆倩 LIU Qingqian ◽  
安海龙 AN Hailong ◽  
曹学慧 CAO Xuehui ◽  
刘超 LIU Chao ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-387
Author(s):  
Na Ra Jeong ◽  
Jeong-Hee Kim ◽  
Seung Won Han ◽  
Jong-Cheol Kim ◽  
Woo Young Kim

Background and objective: To improve air quality, particulate matter (PM) can be reduced using green infrastructure. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the particulate matter reduction potential of climbing plants used for green walls, an element of vertical green infrastructure. Methods: A sealed chamber with controlled environmental variables was used to assess the PM reduction level caused by climbing plants. PM concentration in the plant chamber was measured after two and four hours of PM exposure, and the reduction potential was assessed based on the leaf area. Results: Compared to the empty chamber (Control), the PM reduction speed per hour was higher in the plant chamber, which confirmed that climbing plants contribute to the reduction of PM in the air. The PM reduction speed immediately after exposure in the plant chamber was high, but this slowed over time. Additionally, PM has been continuously reduced in plants with large leaves. As a result of calculating the particulate matter reduction level based on leaf area, it was found that there was a difference by particle size. Actinidia arguta, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, Trachelospermum asiaticum, and Euonymus fortunei var. radicans showed a high reduction effect. The trichomes on the leaf surface of Trachelospermum asiaticum were found to affect PM reduction. Conclusion: PM adsorption on the leaf surface is an important factor in reducing its concentration. It was possible to compare different plants by quantifying the amount of PM reduction during a fixed time period. These results can be used as the basic data to select the plant species suitable for urban green walls in terms of PM reduction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 11199-11212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Stojiljkovic ◽  
Mari Kauhaniemi ◽  
Jaakko Kukkonen ◽  
Kaarle Kupiainen ◽  
Ari Karppinen ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have numerically evaluated how effective selected potential measures would be for reducing the impact of road dust on ambient air particulate matter (PM10). The selected measures included a reduction of the use of studded tyres on light-duty vehicles and a reduction of the use of salt or sand for traction control. We have evaluated these measures for a street canyon located in central Helsinki for four years (2007–2009 and 2014). Air quality measurements were conducted in the street canyon for two years, 2009 and 2014. Two road dust emission models, NORTRIP (NOn-exhaust Road TRaffic Induced Particle emissions) and FORE (Forecasting Of Road dust Emissions), were applied in combination with the Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM), a street canyon dispersion model, to compute the street increments of PM10 (i.e. the fraction of PM10 concentration originating from traffic emissions at the street level) within the street canyon. The predicted concentrations were compared with the air quality measurements. Both road dust emission models reproduced the seasonal variability of the PM10 concentrations fairly well but under-predicted the annual mean values. It was found that the largest reductions of concentrations could potentially be achieved by reducing the fraction of vehicles that use studded tyres. For instance, a 30 % decrease in the number of vehicles using studded tyres would result in an average decrease in the non-exhaust street increment of PM10 from 10 % to 22 %, depending on the model used and the year considered. Modelled contributions of traction sand and salt to the annual mean non-exhaust street increment of PM10 ranged from 4 % to 20 % for the traction sand and from 0.1 % to 4 % for the traction salt. The results presented here can be used to support the development of optimal strategies for reducing high springtime particulate matter concentrations originating from road dust.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Robert Cichowicz ◽  
Maciej Dobrzański

Spatial analysis of the distribution of particulate matter PM10, PM2.5, PM1.0, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas pollution was performed in the area around a university library building. The reasons for the subject matter were reports related to the perceptible odor characteristic of hydrogen sulfide and a general poor assessment of air quality by employees and students. Due to the area of analysis, it was decided to perform measurements at two heights, 10 m and 20 m above ground level, using measuring equipment attached to a DJI Matrice 600 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The aim of the measurements was air quality assessment and investigate the convergence of the theory of air flow around the building with the spatial distribution of air pollutants. Considerable differences of up to 63% were observed in the concentrations of pollutants measured around the building, especially between opposite sides, depending on the direction of the wind. To explain these differences, the theory of aerodynamics was applied to visualize the probable airflow in the direction of the wind. A strong convergence was observed between the aerodynamic model and the spatial distribution of pollutants. This was evidenced by the high concentrations of dust in the areas of strong turbulence at the edges of the building and on the leeward side. The accumulation of pollutants was also clearly noticeable in these locations. A high concentration of H2S was recorded around the library building on the side of the car park. On the other hand, the air turbulence around the building dispersed the gas pollution, causing the concentration of H2S to drop on the leeward side. It was confirmed that in some analyzed areas the permissible concentration of H2S was exceeded.


Author(s):  
James R. Hodgson ◽  
Lee Chapman ◽  
Francis D. Pope

AbstractUrban air pollution can have negative short- and long-term impacts on health, including cardiovascular, neurological, immune system and developmental damage. The irritant qualities of pollutants such as ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) can cause respiratory and cardiovascular distress, which can be heightened during physical activity and particularly so for those with respiratory conditions such as asthma. Previously, research has only examined marathon run outcomes or running under laboratory settings. This study focuses on elite 5-km athletes performing in international events at nine locations. Local meteorological and air quality data are used in conjunction with race performance metrics from the Diamond League Athletics series to determine the extent to which elite competitors are influenced during maximal sustained efforts in real-world conditions. The findings from this study suggest that local meteorological variables (temperature, wind speed and relative humidity) and air quality (ozone and particulate matter) have an impact on athletic performance. Variation between finishing times at different race locations can also be explained by the local meteorology and air quality conditions seen during races.


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