Article
Plant Sciences
Lauren E. O'Brien, Rachael E. Urbanek, James D. Gregory
Summary: The recent sprawl of urbanization in the Eastern U.S. has made landscapes vulnerable to degradation. Urban forests have been presented as a method to ameliorate human and environmental health in metropolitan environments. This study highlights the ecological functions and human benefits of urban forests and emphasizes the importance of incorporating trees into city design for mitigating environmental impacts.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Solhanlle Bonilla-Duarte, Claudia Caballero Gonzalez, Leonardo Cortes Rodriguez, Ulises Javier Jauregui-Haza, Agustin Garcia-Garcia
Summary: The survey in Santo Domingo, National District, showed a correlation between forest cover and air quality, but further research is needed for conclusive results. The study suggests that urban planning for environmental quality requires inter-institutional coordination and permanent monitoring.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mario Eduardo Gavidia-Calderon, Sergio Ibarra-Espinosa, Youngseob Kim, Yang Zhang, Maria de Fatima Andrade
Summary: The study evaluated the performance of the urban network model MUNICH in simulating ozone and nitrogen oxides concentrations in urban street canyons in the Sao Paulo metropolitan area. The model showed better accuracy in simulating NOx concentrations compared to ozone concentrations, with the latter being overpredicted due to dependency on background concentrations.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Evangelia Siouti, Ksakousti Skyllakou, Ioannis Kioutsioukis, David Patoulias, George Fouskas, Spyros N. Pandis
Summary: Air pollution forecasting systems, such as SmartAQ, combine advanced meteorological and chemical models to provide detailed predictions of air pollutant concentrations. SmartAQ operates in real time and can forecast the concentrations of various pollutants, including aerosols, for the next few days.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Luciana Maria Baptista Ventura, Michelle Branco Ramos, Marcio de Almeida D'Agosto, Adriana Gioda
Summary: A study in Brazil during a road freight transport standstill in May 2018 found that the reduction of heavy-duty vehicles in Rio de Janeiro led to a decrease in local emissions of harmful air pollutants, but did not significantly improve air quality.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Austin Arrington
Summary: The practice of collecting wild plants occurs in urban and peri-urban communities globally, providing various benefits. Invasive plants can contribute to community economies and cultures, while also supporting ecosystem services. Collaboration between foraging communities and greenspace managers can aid in invasive species management in urban ecosystems.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Angela Beckmann-Wubbelt, Annika Fricke, Zita Sebesvari, Iulia Almeida Yakouchenkova, Katrin Froehlich, Somidh Saha
Summary: Residents prefer nearby urban and peri-urban forests and value the peri-urban forests' CES more, despite their different frequency of use. The survey results show an increase in visits to urban and peri-urban forests during the COVID-19 pandemic, with participants highlighting the importance of urban forests in stress reduction.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Petra Hesslerova, Jan Pokorny, Hanna Huryna, Josef Sejak, Vladimir Jirka
Summary: This paper introduces the impact of urban greenery on urban climate and proposes a method to quantify the role of vegetation as an air conditioning system, providing the possibility of implementing it in spatial planning.
PROGRESS IN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Prodyut Anand, Prodyut Bhattacharya
Summary: Recent rapid economic and infrastructure growth in India has led to degraded environmental conditions, especially in congested urban areas. Urban green spaces (UGSs) are recognized as vital for improving environmental qualities. A study in Delhi, India assessed residents' perceptions of UGSs ecosystem services. The majority of respondents were aware of and valued the benefits of UGSs, with a focus on improving urban microclimates and environmental quality. The findings from this research provide insights for urban planners and developers to consider residents' expectations when designing UGSs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Gengyu Gao, Min Zhang, Shanshan Wang, Can Wang, RuiQin Zhang
Summary: The study finds that in 2030, the scenario with the best end-of-pipe technology has the most significant effect on reducing emissions of SO2, PM10, PM2.5, and NOx, with a reduction rate ranging from 47 to 81%. The other emission reduction scenarios have reduction potentials of 25-35%, 5-21%, and 1-4% for pollutants.
ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sicen Liu, Gang Peng, Chuanwang Sun, Tomas Balezentis, Anda Guo
Summary: This study uses province-level data from China to analyze the factors leading to inefficiency in sector operation, highlighting industrial SO2 emissions, energy consumption, and NOX emissions as major contributors. It also shows that energy consumption, air pollutant emissions, and output have a higher impact on productivity change compared to non-industrial variables, with technical progress offsetting negative efficiency growth. The Chinese government should focus on improving the efficiency of non-industrial energy consumption and promoting the development of cleaner industries.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pablo Giraldez, Jesus R. Aboal, J. Angel Fernandez, Antonio Di Guardo, Elisa Terzaghi
Summary: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are important pollutants mainly emitted from incomplete combustion of organic materials. They exist in high concentrations in cities and contaminate air in both gas and particle form. Using plants to capture PAHs is an effective measure to mitigate pollution. This study found variations in PAH uptake and enrichment ability among different conifer species, providing equations to fine tune the reduction of PAH concentrations in air by adjusting plant biomass.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Mingzhang Liang, Ye Chao, Yu Tu, Te Xu
Summary: In recent years, vehicle emissions have become a significant contributor to urban air pollution. This paper provides a review of mechanism research methods and mathematical modeling approaches for understanding and predicting the dispersion of vehicle pollutants in urban areas. The reviewed methods include field measurements, wind tunnel experiments, and numerical simulations, while the modeling approaches consist of popular box models and Gaussian models. The paper also clarifies the basic assumptions, principles, related research, applicable conditions, and limitations of these methods and models.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Alberto Martilli, Beatriz Sanchez, Jose Luis Santiago, Domingo Rasilla, Gianluca Pappaccogli, Fernando Allende, Fernando Martin, Carlos Roman-Cascon, Carlos Yaguee, Felipe Fernandez
Summary: Accurate simulation of dispersion during wintertime thermal inversions is crucial for understanding the phenomena and improving air quality strategies. This study used WRF with the BEP-BEM scheme to simulate dispersion during a thermal inversion episode in Madrid, Spain. Results showed spatial variability of dispersive conditions, with pollutants accumulating in topographical depressions. Additionally, a simple empirical method for deriving NO2 from NOx concentrations was proposed. The model was also used to derive information useful for air pollution abatement strategies, such as optimizing emissions throughout the diurnal cycle.
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Zhuang Miao, Xiaodong Chen, Tomas Balezentis
Summary: This paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis to measure technical inefficiency and productivity change in China's Three Regions and Ten Urban Agglomerations, finding that industrial energy consumption, industrial sulfur dioxide, and industrial soot & dust emissions are the main variables causing industrial inefficiency across regions. Spatially, there are differences in environmental performance and productivity change patterns among different urban agglomerations.