Urban Vegetation and their Relative Ability in Removing Tropospheric Ozone

Urban vegetation as a component of urban forest ecosystem can provide phyto-mitigation and phyto-remediation for improving urban environment and quality of life. However, information on relative contribution of vegetation by species are limited. The results of this study provide additional needed information toward understanding and efficient management of our urban forests. Relative ability of twenty common Southeastern urban tree species in removing high urban ozone concentration (0.12-0.16 ppm) were quantified and compared. A modern plant-air pollution laboratory system (PALS) designed to measure fluxes of pollutants to plants was used. Tree species of similar age and size were randomly exposed to a predetermined concentrations simulating air in polluted urban areas. Ozone uptake rate (mg O3 /hr) for each species was expressed on the basis of leaf area (mg O3/dm2/hr) and leaf biomass (mg O3 /g/hr). Statistical analysis indicated that there are significant differences among different tree species in removing ozone. Duncan Multiple Range Test provided the relative comparisons of the experimental species in terms of their ability to remove ozone.