Trees help reduce urban air pollution. A recent study by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in America has found that being near a tree is useful for air pollution. Particulate matter are microscopic particles that become trapped in our lungs when we breathe in polluted air. TNC found that there is a reduction from 24% to 7% particulate matter when a person stands near a tree.
However, TNC found in their study that most cities were actually losing, rather than gaining trees.
The World Health Organisation said in 2014 that 90% of pepe living in cities were exposed to particular matter that was greater than the air quality guidelines suggested by WHO.
Planting trees can help reduce this issue. Dr McDonald from TNC said “All of the cities we looked at, if all the people in them spent an extra US $4 a year on planting trees, you could save between 11,000 and 36,000 lives each year. This is mostly as a result of having cleaner air. As well as the avoided mortality, there is even more avoided hospitalisation, and it will benefit tens of millions of folks. "In this urban century when there are going to be an extra two billion people in cities, smart cities should be thinking about how nature and trees can be part of the solution to keep air healthy."
To learn more about trees and plant life, look at our great range of eBooks now available, including:
Trees And Shrubs
What To Plant Where
Follow the links in the titles for further details, previews, and to purchase.
If you are interested in studying trees and plants, look at the following courses available from ACS Distance Education, including:
Arboriculture I
Deciduous Trees
Trees For Rehabilitation
Plant Selection And Establishment