Quantifying air pollution attenuation within urban parks: An experimental approach in Shanghai, China

Parks with various types of vegetations played an important role in ameliorating air quality in urban areas. However, the attenuation effect of urban vegetation on levels of air pollution was rarely been experimentally estimated. This study, using seasonal monitoring data of total suspended particles (TSP), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from six parks in Pudong District, Shanghai, China, demonstrated vegetations in parks can remove large amount of airborne pollutants. In addition, crown volume coverage (CVC) was introduced to characterize vegetation conditions in parks and a mixed-effects model indicated that CVC and the pollution diffusion distance were key predictors influencing pollutants removal rate. Therefore, it could be estimated by regression analysis that in summer, urban vegetations in Pudong District could contribute to 9.1% of TSP removal, 5.3% of SO2 and 2.6% of NO2. The results could be considered for a better park planning and improving air quality.

► We examined markedly air pollution decline in urban vegetation patches by field experiments.
► Crown volume coverage (CVC) served to characterize vegetation condition among different species.
► CVC and pollutants diffusion distance were key predictors affecting air pollution attenuation within parks.