Is the existing urban greenery enough to cope with current concentrations of PM2.5,PM10and CO2?

Özet

Poor air quality in urban areas has a direct impact on the public health on a global scale. The examples of airpollution are: particulate matter with particles less than 10μm (PM10) and less than 2.5μm (PM2.5), as well ascarbon dioxide (CO2). Urban greenery can be a way to clean the air in built-up areas. Many urban parks were,however, created long time ago, and it was not examined whether they are useful for the air purificationnowadays. In year 2017, in the area of the largest city park in Europe–the Silesia Park (S Poland)–a network of40 constant points was created, where from June to October the air quality was measured once a month.Research showed that the air quality was lower near the roads, the microclimate affected the concentration ofpollutants, and trees of different genera and sizes differed in the efficiency of air cleaning. The greater porosity oftree crowns was associated with a higher concentration of all three measured indicators, suggesting theirstagnation between vegetation. Older patches of the park with European hornbeams and beeches deserve pro-tection as the most efficient airfilterers. It is recommended to close internal park roads for cars and/or plant anew green barrier around the park. Current density of trees should be constant or increased to maintain theoptimal microclimate that decreases air temperature determining effective air cleaning.