Which tree is best for purifying the air. Plants in the city. Trees emit volatile organic compounds
Everyone knows that trees purify the air. Being in a forest or a park, you can feel that the air is completely different, not the same as on dusty city streets. It is much easier to breathe in the shady coolness of the trees. Why is this happening?
Photosynthesis
The leaves of trees are small laboratories in which, under the influence of sunlight and heat, the carbon dioxide contained in the air is converted into organic substances and oxygen.
Organic matter is processed into the material from which the plant is built, i.e. trunk, roots, etc. Oxygen is released from the leaves into the air. In one hour, one hectare of forest absorbs the entire, which two hundred people can work out during this time!
Trees clean the air by absorbing pollutants
The leaf surface is able to capture airborne particles and remove them from the air (at least temporarily). Airborne microscopic particles can enter the lungs, which can lead to serious health problems or tissue irritation. So it is very important to reduce their concentration in the air, which trees successfully do. Trees can remove both gaseous pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide) and particulate matter. Purification mainly occurs with the help of stomata. Stomata are small windows or pores on the leaf through which water evaporates and gas exchanges with the environment. Thus, dust particles, before reaching the ground, settle on the leaves of trees, and under their canopy the air is much cleaner than above the crowns. But not all trees can tolerate dusty and gassy conditions: ash, linden and spruce suffer greatly from them. Dust and gases can lead to blockage of stomata. However, oak, poplar or maple are more resistant to the harmful effects of a polluted atmosphere.
Trees cool the temperature during the hot season
When you walk under the scorching sun, you always want to find a shady tree. And how nice it is to take a walk in a cool forest on a hot day. Being under the crown of trees is more comfortable not only because of the shade. Thanks to transpiration (that is, the process of evaporation of water by a plant, which occurs mainly through the leaves), lower wind speed and relative humidity, and fallen leaves under the trees, a certain microclimate is created. Trees suck up a lot of water from the soil, which then evaporates through the leaves. All these factors together affect the air temperature under the trees, where it is usually 2 degrees cooler than in the sun.
But how does lower temperatures affect air quality? Many pollutants begin to be released more actively with increasing temperature. A perfect example of this is a car left in the sun in the summer. Hot seats and door handles create a suffocating atmosphere in the car, so you want to turn on the air conditioner faster. Especially in new cars, where the smell has not yet disappeared, it becomes especially strong. In particularly sensitive people, it can even lead to asthma.
Trees emit volatile organic compounds
Most trees emit volatile organic substances - phytoncides. Sometimes these substances form haze. Phytoncides are able to destroy pathogenic microbes, many pathogenic fungi, have a strong effect on multicellular organisms and even kill insects. The best producer of therapeutic volatile organic substances is the pine forest. In pine and cedar forests, the air is practically sterile. Pine phytoncides increase the general tone of a person, have a beneficial effect on the central and sympathetic nervous system. Trees such as cypress, maple, viburnum, magnolia, jasmine, white locust, birch, alder, poplar and willow also have pronounced bactericidal properties.
Trees are vital to keeping the air and the entire ecosystem clean on Earth. Everyone understands this, even small children. However, deforestation is not slowing down. World forests have decreased by 1.5 million square meters. km for 2000-2012 for non-anthropogenic (natural) and anthropogenic reasons. In Russia, the Far East is especially affected by deforestation. The deforestation map can now be viewed using a service from Google and see the real state of affairs in forestry, which inspires great concern.
The role of plantings in the fight against air pollution. One of the main advantages of green spaces in urban areas is their high activity in capturing harmful substances released into the atmosphere due to transport and industrial emissions. The role of plants in absorbing carbon dioxide, reducing air pollution with dust (harmful gases are absorbed by plants, and solid particles of aerosols are deposited on the leaves, trunks and branches of plants) and reducing its bacterial pollution by enriching the atmosphere with various phytoncides is well known.
Forests, parks, gardens, boulevards and squares greatly affect the composition of atmospheric air. During the growing season, their vegetation enriches the air with oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide. In one warm sunny day, a hectare of forest absorbs 220-280 kg of carbon dioxide from the air and releases 180-200 kg of oxygen. Poplar has the highest productivity in the process of oxygen evolution. Different species of trees and shrubs have different intensity of photosynthesis and therefore emit different amounts of oxygen, for example, trees with a larger deciduous mass release more oxygen.
Plantations purify the air from industrial and exhaust gases (the effectiveness of the struggle of green spaces with harmful emissions from road transport can vary over a fairly wide range - from 7 to 35%). Green spaces located in the path of the polluted air flow break the original concentrated flow into different directions. Thus, harmful emissions are diluted with clean air, and their concentration in the air is reduced.
The gas absorption capacity of individual tree and shrub species of plants, depending on various concentrations of harmful gases in the air, is not the same and depends on the degree of their sensitivity to various pollutants. It must be taken into account that plants with an increased intensity of photosynthesis have a lower resistance to gases.
Studies and long-term observations have shown that small-leaved linden, ash, common lilac and honeysuckle have the best absorption qualities.
Slightly damaged species include elm (rough and smooth), prickly spruce, tree willow, ash-leaved maple, aspen, poplar (Berlin, balsamic, Canadian and black), Siberian apple tree, yellow acacia, Siberian hawthorn, wild cherry, common viburnum, black currant , juniper (Cossack and virgin); to moderately damaged - warty birch, Engelman spruce, Siberian larch, mountain ash, basket willow, Tatar maple and other species.
Of the grasses, meadow fescue has the greatest resistance to gases, and the least is white bentgrass. Top dressing with nitrogen fertilizers, as well as liming, which improves the water regime of soils, significantly increases the resistance of plants to gases.
Table 4The best green filters for biological air purification in Russian cities
1 ha of coniferous trees retains 40 tons of dust/year, and deciduous trees - about 100 tons of dust/year - the results of studying the dust-retaining role of tree and shrub plantings indicate that in the green areas of microdistricts, air dust content is 40% lower than in open or built-up sites.
Dust, carried away by descending air currents, settles on the leaves, but even in the leafless period, trees reduce the dust content of the air by 37%. Species of trees and shrubs with rough, hairy leaves (elm, linden, maple, lilac) have the highest dust-holding capacity.
The lawn, along with trees and shrubs, also retains dust. It is no coincidence that recently in the practice of landscaping, preference is increasingly given to a landscape or free style of design, in which 60% or more of the landscaped area is given over to the lawn.
Phytoncides of plants and air ionization. Many plants emit volatile biologically active substances into the air - phytoncides, which kill and inhibit the growth and development of microorganisms. Many of the phytoncides were isolated in pure form, and their chemical nature was established. It turned out that in some plants phytoncides are organic acids, while in others they are essential oils and alkaloids; and in the tissues of various plants, phytoncides are unevenly distributed.
Phytoncides include both volatile and non-volatile plant substances. These are all herbal antibiotics. Volatile phytoncides are able to exert their effect at a distance; non-volatile ones are formed in the tissue sap at the time of damage to the cell membranes of the plant, but in addition, phytoncides can also be released by intact leaves (for example, phytoncides of oak and birch leaves). The amount of these substances varies depending on the season, the physiological state of the plant, time of day, and soil and climatic conditions. Most of them occur during flowering.
Initially, it was believed that only ethereal plants have phytoncidal properties, but studies have shown that this phenomenon is characteristic of the entire plant world to one degree or another. Therefore, the air in parks contains 200 times less pathogens than on the streets of the city, while in green areas already at a distance of 30 meters from the carriageway of the street, 2 times less microbes than on highways. Moreover, in pure pine forests and forests with a predominance of pine (up to 60%), bacterial air pollution is 2 times less than in birch forests. No wonder many sanatoriums and hospitals were built in pine forests. Phytoncides of this tree, as a rule, increase the body's defenses, tone it up.
Juniper emits phytoncides about 6 times more than other conifers, and 15 times more than hardwoods. There are more than 20 species of juniper in our country, but this plant is very sensitive to air pollution from industrial waste. Therefore, its planting, unfortunately, is not acceptable in large industrial cities and in the territories of sanitary protection zones.
Of the 15 species of eucalyptus, only eucalyptus globulus is able to destroy the influenza virus. And the fastest destroy microbes and viruses leaves of poplar and birch - within 3 hours.
Due to the very rapid spread of information that plant phytoncides, penetrating through the lungs and skin into the human body, protect it from infectious diseases, have a positive effect on metabolism, have a beneficial effect on the psyche, spruce and other special dwarf conifers began to be grown on balconies everywhere. species that fill the apartments with a life-giving forest aroma. In this case, do not forget that the compatibility of phytoncides of various plants is of great importance. So, oak, birch and poplar help each other: the volatile substances contained in these trees fall into the same spectrum. But plants of different spectra, for example, lavender and rose, oppress each other with their phytoncides. A new biological method - ecological phytodesign - deals with the issues of the correct combination of plants with pronounced phytoncidal and gas-absorbing properties used for sanitation and improvement of indoor air.
So, from trees and shrubs with antibacterial properties that positively affect the state of the air environment of cities, one should name white acacia, barberry, warty birch, pear, hornbeam, oak, spruce, jasmine, honeysuckle, willow, viburnum, chestnut, maple, larch, linden, juniper, fir, plane tree, lilac, pine, poplar, bird cherry, apple tree. Phytoncidal activity is also possessed by herbaceous plants - lawn grasses, flowers and creepers.
Urban vegetation contributes to another phenomenon that is beneficial for humans - an increase in air ionization. Ionization is the process of air purification by enriching it with light negatively charged particles or ions.
There are air ions that can carry a negative or positive charge. Negative ions (lungs) have the most beneficial effect on the environment. Carriers of positively charged (heavy) ions are usually ionized molecules of smoke, water dust and vapors that pollute the air. Consequently, the purity of the air is largely determined by the ratio of the amount of light and heavy ions.
An essential qualitative feature of oxygen produced by green spaces is its saturation with ions that carry a negative charge, which manifests the beneficial effect of vegetation on the state of the human body. For a clearer idea of the ability of plants to enrich the air with negative light ions, the following data can be given: the number of light ions in 1 cm 3 of air over forests is 2000 - 3000, in a city park - 800, in an industrial area - 200 - 400, in a closed crowded room - 25 - 100.
The ionization of air is influenced by both the degree of landscaping and the natural composition of plants. The best air ionizers are mixed coniferous-deciduous plantations. Pine plantations only in adulthood have a beneficial effect on its ionization, since due to the turpentine vapor emitted by young weeds, the concentration of light ions in the atmosphere decreases. Volatile substances of flowering plants also contribute to an increase in the concentration of light ions in the air. The ionization of forest oxygen is 2–3 times higher than that of the sea and 5–10 times higher than that of the urban atmosphere.
The greatest contribution to the increase in the concentration of light ions in the air is white acacia, Karelian and Japanese birch, red and pedunculate oak, white and weeping willow, silver and red maple, Siberian larch, Siberian fir, mountain ash, common lilac, black poplar.
When the hated poplar fluff begins to fly through the streets of Russian cities, not only allergy sufferers, but also the rest of the townspeople, without hiding their indignation, sigh: “And when these trees are finally cut down, they will cause so many problems!” But in fact, planting poplars in cities is much more important than just decorating the urban landscape. Today we will talk about which trees do the best job of cleaning the air from harmful pollutants.
Poplar fragrant - one of the most common inhabitants of the old city blocks
The choice of poplar as the main landscape plant in Russian cities is not accidental. And although modern city leaders increasingly prefer little-known exotic plant species, poplars can still be found in the old industrial areas along the perimeter of enterprises. The fact is that it is poplar that is the best air purifier in megacities among all other types of trees. Poplar absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and produces oxygen, and in terms of the amount of oxygen produced, poplar is ten times greater than coniferous trees.
Pyramidal poplar - a variety of black poplar, which grows well not only in the south, but also in Siberia
It is worth noting that the genus of poplars includes more than 90 species. All of them, including pyramidal poplar and aspen, are excellent absorbers of pollutants from the surrounding air. All poplars grow very quickly and gain green mass useful for the city. In addition, they are able to survive in the most difficult conditions - along busy highways or in the territory of industrial enterprises. Among the poplar genus there are a lot of beautiful decorative species that can decorate the streets of cities. Well, the problem with flying fluff is actually solved quite easily, just pick up types of plants that do not form fluff (silver or white poplar), or propagate in nurseries only male plants that are devoid of this unpleasant feature.
Chestnut is a great air purifier
In addition to poplar, chestnuts have good dust-collecting abilities in urban conditions, which are almost as hardy as poplars, but can grow only in the relatively warm climate of the south of the European part of Russia. Elms, as well as shrubs such as wild rose, lilac and acacia, do a good job of cleaning the air. The Manchurian walnut, which grows in the Far East, and is also actively used in landscaping throughout Siberia, has good cleaning abilities, as an extremely hardy species to low temperatures. But lindens and birches, beloved by everyone, unfortunately, are not able to grow in conditions of increased gas pollution, therefore they do not survive along highways and can exist only in park areas and residential areas.
Manchurian walnut - decorative and very frost-resistant type of trees
Despite their attractiveness, coniferous plants do not absorb carbon dioxide as actively as deciduous trees. But they are able to do it all year round, besides, conifers emit useful phytoncides. Among them, it is worth noting larch, which very well absorbs lead compounds from the surrounding air.
In addition to processing dangerous compounds from the air, trees in urban ecosystems contribute to an increase in air humidity, as well as reduce surface overheating in the summer.
Unfortunately, the current trend in the development of large cities around the world is such that little attention is paid to improving air quality. The number of park areas and green spaces does not meet the standards, and the number of vehicles is growing every year, thereby worsening the quality of the air inhaled by citizens. In place of old cut down trees, semi-dried large trees or tree species appear that are poorly adapted to the aggressive conditions of the urban environment. As a result, these trees are forced to fight for survival instead of helping to purify the air. Therefore, poplars, with their remarkable ability to purify the air and quickly grow green mass, should take their rightful place in the urban landscape.
Photo: iStock This Sunday, the world's largest water lily will blossom in the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University "Pharmaceutical Garden". As told to "RG" in the press service of the garden, the water lily is called "Victoria Amazonian" (Victoria amazonica), its leaves reach two meters in diameter. The plant is able to support the weight of a small child. This giant of the flower world should bloom on the night of August 24-25. And at first the flowers will be white (until about 11 am), and after 16:00 - already purple. The water lily lives only 48 hours. During this time, she changes not only color, but also gender. The plant attracts insects with a strong ...
The largest French company CMA CGM, specializing in container shipping by sea, does not plan to use the Northern Sea Route and other routes in the Arctic for environmental reasons, said the company's chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade. Credit: iStock “This decision was made despite the significant competitive advantage this path represents for transport companies,” Saade was quoted as saying by LeFigaro newspaper. According to the entrepreneur, the change in approach is due to the environmental promises made. Any accident in the difficult conditions of the Arctic will pose a great threat to the environment. The company is currently promoting plans for the transportation of liquefied natural…
Contents Signs and features of ectomorphs Rules for conducting fitness classes for ectomorphs Exercise program for muscles Exercises to maintain and improve the result of training Overweight problems do not concern everyone. After all, there is such a type of people as ectomorphs. They have a lean physique, even with a plentiful diet. Having decided to pump up muscle mass, ectomorphs find that it is not easy to do this. However, properly selected exercises and recommendations of specialists can help with this. Signs and features of ectomorphs People who can be classified as ectomorphs have an increased metabolism. All food consumed, including carbohydrates, is instantly converted into energy. Fatty…
If you are a "screaming mom", then this article will make you stop for a minute and think - why are you doing this. And we hope you will no longer yell at your children ... If you often yell at your children, think about it - why does this happen to you? When you feel anger or irritation rising, learn to stop. Controlling yourself under extreme stress is a difficult task. So it is better to look closely at your experiences, take care of yourself and not bring yourself to stress. 2 main reasons for irritation with your own children 1. How to distinguish Soviet (post-Soviet) parents? If their…
Some manage to build relationships, avoiding emotional dramas, for others, life endlessly slips only problematic partners and difficult emotional experiences. It is not at all necessary that the lucky ones are more beautiful, smarter, more talented, etc., perhaps even vice versa. The desire for happy and mutual love is a natural human need. Therefore, having reached a certain age, he turns his attention to representatives of the opposite sex, in the hope of meeting the only one with whom he is both in sorrow and in joy ... Some can create relationships, avoiding emotional dramas, for others, life constantly presents problem partners and difficult experiences. It is not at all necessary that happy people are more beautiful, smart, talented, ...
The President of the United States emphasized that he considers this a waste of time. US President Donald Trump has expressed dissatisfaction in recent months with the need to attend the upcoming G-7 summit in Biarritz, in particular because, in his opinion, there will be too much attention to environmental issues. This was reported by CNN. According to his sources, the American leader "said to aides that he did not understand why he should even be at the G7 summit." He allegedly emphasized that he considered it a waste of time. As the channel states, until the end of spring of this year, the White House will not…
The other day, a bear looked into the canteen of the gas workers at the Yuzhno-Kharampurskoye field in Yamal to see the smell of food wafting around the area. Near Noyabrsk, a clubfoot was working in a trash can, and a bear cub visited the village of Purpe. Scientists say that there are an unprecedented number of bears in the region, and they attribute this to warming. Climate change has a noticeable effect on other inhabitants of the Arctic. Photo: iStock Selfie with a clubfoot Social media pages in Yamal have been flooded in recent months with pictures and videos of brown bears entering cities and towns. It gets to the point that some people take selfies against the background of clubfoot. Recently…
Dina Khitrova at the RG festival in Yekaterinburg announced that she had lived a year without shopping, and two without plastic bags. Anticipating questions, let's say: Dina still bought food, drink, eco-friendly household chemicals and hygiene products, but she refused the rest. Photo: Yulia Myakisheva Zero Waste or “Zero Waste” is a principle by which people try to minimize the amount of garbage they produce: they go to the store with string bags and cloth bags for fruits, do not use disposable tableware, and so on. Dina Khitrova is trying to reduce her ecological footprint on the planet. That is, sorting garbage - to make the amount ...
✅ Please be attentive to your children when they tell you something. Rules for communicating with children and not only - read on ... Psychologists have identified 12 prohibited forms, patterns of verbal parental reactions to the behavior or words of the child. Remember, when reading this list, that all these “typical answers” are the direct opposite of the so-called ACTIVE LISTENING, the only type of communication between people who are anxious about something, which is considered and called psychologically literate in psychology and pedagogy. Everything else is psychological illiteracy and provoking a permanent conflict - up to the rupture of any relationship ... 12 forbidden parental (and not only ...
Our reality is largely determined by how we perceive it. Some habits in behavior and thinking interfere with life and do not allow you to fully enjoy life. How to learn to think positively? We ourselves do not notice how we color every day in gray tones. But our life depends on how we see it. What prevents you from changing the situation and directing it in a positive direction? Maybe you should reconsider your own outlook on life? So, 40 bad habits that prevent you from living and thinking positively and which you need to get rid of right now. Habits from...
The inhabitants of Russia are threatened by deadly tropical diseases. Epidemiologists conducted a large-scale study of changes in the mosquito population in the south of the country and revealed a frightening trend: dangerous insects from Egypt and Southeast Asia - carriers of Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever viruses - have become widespread along the entire Black Sea coast and in the Crimea. If such a mosquito bites even one tourist, a deadly epidemic could engulf the entire region. Doctors warn that outbreaks of another dangerous disease have already been recorded in the southern regions - West Nile fever, also transmitted by mosquitoes. According to experts, in the future, with an increase in average temperatures ...
The best pair workouts - running, crossfit and others Beloved person, brother or sister, friend or girlfriend - it does not matter who it will be. With the pair format of training, you will not only keep your body in shape, but also develop communication skills, learn a little more about the psychology of relationships. It has been tested and proven that paired workouts are the best way to relieve stress, and they are characterized by a high level of motivation.…
Purify the air. Being in a forest or a park, you can feel that the air is completely different, not the same as on dusty city streets. It is much easier to breathe in the shady coolness of the trees. Why is this happening?
Photosynthesis
The leaves of trees are small laboratories in which, under the influence of sunlight and heat, the carbon dioxide contained in the air is converted into organic substances and oxygen.Organic matter is processed into the material from which the plant is built, i.e. trunk, roots, etc. Oxygen is released from the leaves into the air. In one hour, one hectare of forest absorbs all the carbon dioxide that two hundred people can produce during this time!
Trees clean the air by absorbing pollutants
The leaf surface is able to capture airborne particles and remove them from the air (at least temporarily). Airborne microscopic particles can enter the lungs, which can lead to serious health problems or tissue irritation. So it is very important to reduce their concentration in the air, which trees successfully do. Trees can remove both gaseous pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide) and particulate matter. Purification mainly occurs with the help of stomata. Stomata are small windows or pores on the leaf through which water evaporates and gas exchanges with the environment. Thus, dust particles, before reaching the ground, settle on the leaves of trees, and under their canopy the air is much cleaner than above the crowns. But not all trees can tolerate dusty and gassy conditions: ash, linden and spruce suffer greatly from them. Dust and gases can lead to blockage of stomata. However, oak, poplar or maple are more resistant to the harmful effects of a polluted atmosphere.Trees cool the temperature during the hot season
When you walk under the scorching sun, you always want to find a shady tree. And how nice it is to take a walk in a cool forest on a hot day. Being under the crown of trees is more comfortable not only because of the shade. Thanks to transpiration (that is, the process of water evaporation by a plant, which occurs mainly through the leaves), lower wind speed and relative humidity, a certain microclimate is created under the trees by the fallen leaves. Trees suck up a lot of water from the soil, which then evaporates through the leaves. All these factors together affect the air temperature under the trees, where it is usually 2 degrees cooler than in the sun.But how does lower temperatures affect air quality? Many pollutants begin to be released more actively with increasing temperature. A perfect example of this is a car left in the sun in the summer. Hot seats and door handles create a suffocating atmosphere in the car, so you want to turn on the air conditioner faster. Especially in new cars, where the smell has not yet disappeared, it becomes especially strong. In particularly sensitive people, it can even lead to asthma.
Trees emit volatile organic compounds
Most trees emit volatile organic substances - phytoncides. Sometimes these substances form haze. Phytoncides are able to destroy pathogenic microbes, many pathogenic fungi, have a strong effect on multicellular organisms and even kill insects. The best producer of medicinal volatile organic substances is pine. In pine and cedar forests, the air is practically sterile. Pine phytoncides increase the general tone of a person, have a beneficial effect on the central and sympathetic nervous system. Trees such as cypress, maple, viburnum, magnolia, jasmine, white locust, birch, alder, poplar and willow also have pronounced bactericidal properties.
Trees are vital to keeping the air and the entire ecosystem clean on Earth. Everyone understands this, even small children. However, deforestation is not slowing down. World forests have decreased by 1.5 million square meters. km for 2000-2012 for non-anthropogenic (natural) and anthropogenic reasons. In Russia, the Far East is especially affected by deforestation. The deforestation map can now be viewed using a service from Google and see the real state of affairs in forestry, which inspires great concern.