The characteristics of ambient air quality in urban forest areas and other urban areas of Fuzhou city, China

Air quality directly relates to human health and economic and social sustainable development. In this study, we aim to explore the characteristics of the air pollutant in urban forest areas (UFA) and the relationship of the air pollutant between UFA and other urban areas (OUA). As one of the major vegetated spaces in urban area, UFA are places that can provide better air quality to the public. To investigate the characteristics of the ambient air pollutants in UFA, six monitoring stations in Fuzhou collected six criteria of air pollutant data (PM2.5, PM10, CO, SO2, NO2 and O-3) between May 1st, 2014 and April 30th, 2017. To reveal the characteristics of the air quality in the UFA and compare the difference between UFA and OUA, variations of air pollutant concentrations, attainment rates, major air pollutants (MAP), and the air pollutant source were analyzed. Results showed that compared to the most cities in China, the six criteria air pollutants concentrations were relatively low in Fuzhou; the annual average attainment rate in UFA was higher than in OUA; in all seasons, except winter, PM10 was the most frequent MAP in UFA, followed by PM2.5 and O-3, and the correlations of the MAP between UFA and OUA, indicated that the source of air pollution came from the urban areas of Fuzhou city. Monitoring and analyzing the variations of the ambient air quality in UFA are therefore of considerable significance to the public, as well as to green space managers, designers and urban policymakers.