Retention of Atmospheric Particulate by Three Woody Ornamental Species in Santiago, Chile

Effectiveness of plants and green infrastructure utilization in ambient particulate matter removal

“…Yet, the differences in the experimental design and conditions with the dominating role of climate and seasons make the comparison of results very difficult. Another problem is the variety of values taken into account: foliar retention Cp (usually expressed in μg cm −2 ) (Table 2 ) [ 71 , 162 ], deposition velocities (cm s −1 ) [ 62 , 163 ], but also daily/yearly retention efficiency (mg m −2 d −1 ) [ 164 , 165 ], number density (particles mm −2 ) [ 53 , 166 ], and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) (µA) [ 167 ]. Furthermore, results of PM abatement may differ according to the analytical method used.…”

Native trees provide more benefits than exotic trees when ecosystem services are weighted in Santiago, Chile

“…These results provide valuable evidence for the ecosystem role of native trees in Santiago, contrasting with its scarce species richness and abundance (Figueroa et al 2016;Hernández and Villaseñor 2018), a paradoxical situation that needs to be reverted. The ecosystem services provided by native tree species with evergreen foliage are multiple, temporarily persistent, and highly demanded in Santiago (Escobedo et al 2011;Guerrero-Leiva et al 2016).…”

“…In previous years, Santiago has been considered one of the most atmospherically polluted cities in South America (MMA 2014), this being the reason why this criterion was valued as the most important among the ecosystem services analyzed (w i = 034; Table 1). Tree species can reduce atmospheric pollution by superficial retention and stomatal adsorption in their leaves (Przybysz et al 2014;Guerrero-Leiva et al 2016). Atmospheric pollution in Santiago increases during the austral autumn and winter due to meteorological and geographic conditions (Guerrero-Leiva et al 2016), period during which about 50% of the exotic tree species shed their leaves (Rodríguez-Ríos et al 2006).…”

“…Tree species can reduce atmospheric pollution by superficial retention and stomatal adsorption in their leaves (Przybysz et al 2014;Guerrero-Leiva et al 2016). Atmospheric pollution in Santiago increases during the austral autumn and winter due to meteorological and geographic conditions (Guerrero-Leiva et al 2016), period during which about 50% of the exotic tree species shed their leaves (Rodríguez-Ríos et al 2006). In contrast, native tree species have a higher (potential) environmental contribution to pollution mitigation because 90.4% have evergreen foliage, retaining their leaves throughout the most polluted months (Escobedo et al 2008;Guerrero-Leiva et al 2016).…”

“…Second, planting native trees improves the ecological integration between Santiago and the peri-urban landscape; this especially responds to future climatic scenarios of dry and hot conditions during summer (McCarthy et al 2010;Ellison et al 2017) and high atmospheric pollution events during winter (MMA 2017). This is closely related to the need to mitigate atmospheric pollution between autumn and winter, when this ecosystem service is the most demanded (Préndez 2011;Guerrero et al 2016). Finally, tree selection for urban forests demands an evaluation of environmental "disservice" (Nowak and Dwyer 2007;Lyytimäki et al 2008;Lyytimäki and Sipilä 2009;Dobbs et al 2011), not included in the present study.…”