Trees & Air Pollution

Cool Communities
October 22, 2003

Southern Center for Urban

Forestry Research & Information

Dudley R. Hartel
Technology Transfer Specialist
USDA Forest Service
Athens, Georgia
SRS-4901
October 22, 2003
 Trees & Air Pollution

• Definitions
• Processes
• Resources (to understand & answer questions)
• New Research

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Definitions
– VOCs
– NOx
– Ozone
– SMOG
– Biogenic & Anthropogenic

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• VOCs
– Volatile Organic Compounds
• Evaporate readily (vaporize)
• Carbon
– Many sources
• Vegetation
• Solvents, paints
• Vehicle emissions (benzene)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• VOCs are a Varied Group

– Harmful (toxic) to health
• Benzene, PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)
– Not harmful to health
• Biogenic (NASA study indicates these may reduce
airborne molds & bacteria)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• NOx Emmissions
– Nitrogen Oxides
• Soil, lightning, & volcanoes
• Human activity (combustion)
– Cars, trucks, electric generation, industry,
gasoline powered lawn equipment
– Fire (i.e. prescribed burning)
– Heavily fertilized agricultural crops (corn,
cotton, wheat)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Ozone
– O3 (3 atoms of Oxygen are combined)
– Troposphere (up to 10 miles)
– Stratosphere (10 - 30 miles)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution
• Ozone
– Ozone has the same chemical structure whether it
occurs high above the earth or at ground level and
can be good or bad, depending on its location in
the atmosphere.
– Ozone: Good Up High, Bad Nearby
• Protects life on earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet
rays (UV-b)
• Creates health problems

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution
• SMOG
– Historically:
• Industrial SMOG (London 1950s)
• Smoke + Fog

– Current:
• Photochemical SMOG
• Non-smoke producing combustion
• NOx & VOCs + Sunlight (Ozone)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Biogenic
– Produced by living organisms or
biological processes
• Trees (woody plants)
• Grass (herbaceous plants)
• Soil
• Anthropogenic
– Human activity (related to use of fossil fuels)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Pollution Process (requirements)

– Sunlight
– Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
– Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
– Temperatures >18 degrees Celsius (64.4F)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Trees & VOC Emmisions1

Species Isoprene Monoterpene
Acer negundo 0.0 0.2
Cedrus deodara 0.0 0.4
Quercus alba 0.5 0.1
Quercus rubra 0.9 0.1
Pinus taeda 0.0 1.4
Pistacia chinensis 0.0 2.4
1
grams/tree/day Benjamin & Winer 1998

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Two VOC Emission Issues

– Individual species & trees
• Benjamin & Winer
– Landscape level (regional) for air
pollution studies
• Guenther & Geron

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Trees & VOC Emissions

– Terpenes
• Isoprene (oak) & monoterpene (pine)
• YES! Trees Emit VOCs
– VOCs are not pollutants
– VOCs + NOx + Sunlight = Problem

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution
• Resources
– GHASP
• Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention
• WWW.GHASP.ORG
• Trees & Our Air, 1999
– Researchers
• Chris Geron & Alex Guenther
– Nat’l Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO
• Michael T. Benjamin & Arthur M. Winer
– School of Public Health, UCLA
• David J. Nowak
– USDA FS, Syracuse, NY

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• New Research & Questions

– VOC emissions: 2-28x higher than previously
recorded (methodology, lab vs. field) for trees
– May not be dependent on age of tree
– Canopy level may not be important
– Considerable variability reported
• More research needed

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution
• Despite Uncertainty in VOC Data
• Trees:
– Do not create pollution!
– Have a positive effect on UHI
• Evaporative cooling
• Shade
• Cooler temps mean less ozone, less AC
– Remove particulates & CO2
– Reduce runoff & erosion
– Have a positive impact on mental health

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Suburban Lawns!
– Recent research in Australia (Kirstine)
• Grass & cut grass are important sources of
VOC emissions
• Estimate that about 1/3 of
photochemically reactive VOCs in an urban
airshed are from grass & grass cutting
• These emissions should be part of models

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution

• Suburban Lawns!
– Unlike trees, turf does not:
• Provide as much evaporative cooling
• Provide shade (for humans)
– Reduce energy demand
• Provide an equivalent (any) pervious
surface
• Provide mental health benefits (no research)

October 22, 2003

 Trees & Air Pollution
• Urbanization effects on tree growth
– Jillian W. Gregg, July 10, 2003; Nature
– Cottonwood
• NYC and surrounding rural sites
• Growth better in city
• Higher rural O3 levels reduced growth
– NOx scavenging reactions in the city
reduce O3 levels
• Urban pollutants effects extend
beyond the urban core
October 22, 2003