Urban Vegetation in Air Quality Management: A Review and Policy Framework

Badach, Joanna; Dymnicka, Małgorzata; Baranowski, A.

doi:10.3390/su12031258

Cited by 48 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 140 publications

(377 reference statements)

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“…Urban nature has been widely recognized as an important part of urban infrastructure providing a variety of ecosystem functionalities and services, contributing to sustainable urban development [5]. Findings of empirical investigations have indicated that the presence of natural areas and green infrastructures in cities has the potential to fend off the adverse challenges on vulnerable urban environments and positively affects the life quality of inhabitants [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Consequently, investigations on people's comfort perception related to urban nature and green infrastructure grows steadily [12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Quality of Urban Wetland Parks: A Second-Order Factor Structure Equation Modeling

Pan

You

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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Wetland in the urban or peri-urban areas has been recognized as an important component of urban ecosystems and provides ecological and environmental services. Wetland park emerged as a kind of restoration of natural wetlands in the context of increasing pressure on land and eco-environment caused by urban sprawl, which has played an essential role in providing recreational spaces/opportunities and improving social interactions. However, little research has been conducted on the theoretical formulation elaborating individuals’ perceived quality of wetland parks when people are engaging in activities therein. This study is an attempt to develop a method to measure the quality of wetland parks based on individuals’ various perceptions and attitudes. From the view of human-nature interaction, the perceived quality is hypothetically conceptualized as a composite of two dimensions, such as comfort perception and environmental satisfaction. A series of questionnaire-based surveys were conducted among respondents (N = 936) in Yanghu wetland park in Changsha, China. Based on the measured items from on-site surveys, second-order factor structural equation modeling is applied to estimate the hypothesis of a hierarchical structure for elaborating how the quality of wetland park is perceived by individual respondents. The results test the hypothesis that the quality of wetland park as a second-order theoretical construct can be conceptualized by two first-order theoretical constructs, individuals’ comfort (loading = 0.749), and environmental satisfaction (loading = 0.828). In addition, a significant influence of attitudes toward green space on the perceived quality of wetland park has been identified.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Quality of Urban Wetland Parks: A Second-Order Factor Structure Equation Modeling

Pan

You

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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“…The impact of vegetation on air quality is highly context-dependent, with models suggesting that it can improve urban air quality in some situations but be ineffective or even unfavorable in others. The practical design implications of the results found in the literature are still too limited to provide general guidelines for urban vegetation management, as their relevance is usually restricted to the investigated location [77].…”

Section: Integrated Analysis Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Urban Greening in a District of Lecce (Southern Italy) for the Analysis of CO2 Storage and Air Pollutant Dispersion

et al. 2020

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This paper is devoted to the assessment of urban greening effects on two important ecosystem services, i.e., air quality and CO2 storage, including the corresponding economic impacts in a real urban area, i.e., a district located in the Mediterranean city of Lecce (southern Italy). Two tools were employed, i-Tree Canopy and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) microclimate model ENVI-met. i-Tree Canopy allowed fully determining the land-cover percentage on the basis of different ground cover classes and obtaining an estimate of annual values of CO2 storage, air pollutant removal, and economic benefits in the presence of urban greening. The estimate in i-Tree Canopy considered only the amount of greening; therefore, air pollutant removal estimates were only potential. As the vegetation was located in street canyons, its interaction with local meteorology and urban geometry strictly affected the dispersion of nitrogen oxides (NOx) (taken here as an example) as obtained from ENVI-met simulations. In ENVI-met, both deposition/absorption and aerodynamic effects were considered, and local increases in concentration were found in the district. The analysis of results obtained from different tools (one complex (CFD model) and the other simple (i-Tree model)) showed the error associated with the simple model in the computation of impacts if the interaction among the vegetation characteristics, the meteorological conditions, and the urban geometry was neglected; however, it also uncovers a novel approach for comprehensively characterizing a given area in terms of its vegetation cover, CO2 storage, and economic benefits, as well as local effects on air quality. This study is set in a broader context aimed at assessing the air quality in urban canopies of Mediterranean areas characterized by the presence of narrow street canyons where pollutants can accumulate due to ineffective air exchange with the above atmosphere.

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“…Tools such as i-Tree, developed by the USDA, exist to support planning, management and advocacy for urban forests (e.g. [46,47]). Potentially negative impacts on air quality effects arising from biogenic VOC and pollen emissions can also be managed through judicious selection of species planted (e.g.…”

Section: (B) Zero Hunger (Sdg2)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of soils in the regulation of air quality

Giltrap

Cavanagh

Stevenson

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Soils play a key role in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this study, we review the contribution of soils to the regulation of air quality, which is one of ‘Nature's Contributions to People’ identified by the Intergovernmental-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This is particularly relevant for SDG3 (health and well-being) and 11 (sustainable cities and well-being) but also impacts other SDGs. Soils can act as both a source and a sink of air pollutants (and their precursors). In addition, soils support plant growth which plays a major role in regulating air quality. The scale of the soil impacts on air quality range from global (e.g. greenhouse gas fluxes, stratospheric ozone depletion) to local (e.g. odours, particulates, pathogen transport). Harmful emissions from soil can be increased or decreased by anthropogenic activity, while climate change is likely to modify future emissions patterns, both directly and in response to human mitigation and adaption actions. Although soils are not the only source of these pollutants, it is worthwhile managing them to reduce erosion and nutrient losses to maintain soil health so we may continue to benefit from the contributions to good quality of life they provide. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.

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Urban Vegetation in Air Quality Management: A Review and Policy Framework

Cited by 48 publications

References 140 publications

Perceived Quality of Urban Wetland Parks: A Second-Order Factor Structure Equation Modeling

Perceived Quality of Urban Wetland Parks: A Second-Order Factor Structure Equation Modeling

Characterization of Urban Greening in a District of Lecce (Southern Italy) for the Analysis of CO2 Storage and Air Pollutant Dispersion

The role of soils in the regulation of air quality

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