It’s
Trees Tuesday!
Time for some
tree trivia. Each Tuesday, we will be focusing on one of the benefits of trees
and the urban forest as a whole.
Today’s topic: air quality.
Most of us know
that trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen during photosynthesis. As
the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continue to rise, trees help to
offset some of our carbon emissions. The more trees, the more carbon
sequestered, and the more oxygen released into the air for us to breathe.
Carbon dioxide causes
about half of the total greenhouse effect-the trapping of heat in our
atmosphere due to high amounts of “greenhouse gases” (attributed largely to
human activities). That means that by removing carbon dioxide from the air,
trees also help to reduce the effects of global warming.
But carbon
dioxide isn’t the only pollutant that trees can absorb. The stomata in the
leaves of trees can also take in sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and ozone. Additionally, the
leaves and bark trap inhalable particles floating around in the air. These
are all common and harmful pollutants in our city that contribute to smog and
overall poor air quality. The urban forest can help to remove some of these
gases from the air, improving air quality and, as a result, human health.
Improving the state of our urban forest might mean a reduction in respiratory
problems like asthma.
As urban air
quality problems continue to grow, the urban forest will become more and more
important as a method for reducing air pollution. You can breathe easy knowing
that the urban forest’s effect on air quality has both environmental and human
health benefits. A healthy urban forest is a win-win situation!
Information for
this post obtained from:
http://www.forestry.utoronto.ca/neighbourwoods/web/
http://urbanforestrynetwork.org/benefits/air%20quality.htm
--Mara
--Mara
