Urban trees in Bangalore city: literature review and pilot study on the role of trees in mitigating air pollution and the.....
Urban forests are a vital component of the urban ecosystems and are gaining importance as the quality of this ecosystem is deteriorating. The main problem with urban greening today, is that very little information is available to planners and legislators regarding the costs and benefits of urban trees. This factors has led to a marked decrease in urban forests of cities like Bangalore, which has been greened only fairly recently (in the last 50-60 years). Numerous research projects have been conducted on the ecological, social, and economic value of trees, but very few Indian studies have been carried out on the subject. The pollutant removal, oxygen producing and heat mitigating qualities of trees were known many decades ago, however, quantification of these abilities has only begun recently and India-specific information is largely unavailable. This study was carried out using previous international studies as a model. It was found that removal of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) is measurable, but may not be statistically accurate due to changes in wind direction. Removal of particulate matter was found to be significant, and effected by mechanisms including direct stomotal uptake and dry deposition on leaves and tree surfaces.