The effects of roadside vegetation characteristics on local, near-road air quality

Roadside vegetation has been shown to impact downwind, near-road air quality, with some studies identifying reductions in air pollution concentrations and others indicating increases in pollutant levels when vegetation is present. These widely contradictory results have resulted in confusion regarding the capability of vegetative barriers to mitigate near-road air pollution, which numerous studies have associated with significant adverse human health effects. Roadside vegetation studies have investigated the impact of many different types and conditions of vegetation barriers and urban forests, including preserved, existing vegetation stands usually consisting of mixtures of trees and shrubs or plantings of individual trees. A study was conducted along a highway with differing vegetation characteristics to identify if and how the changing characteristics affected downwind air quality. The results indicated that roadside vegetation needed to be of sufficient height, thickness, and coverage to achieve downwind air pollutant reductions. A vegetation stand which was highly porous and contained large gaps within the stand structure had increased downwind pollutant concentrations. These field study results were consistent with other studies that the roadside vegetation could lead to reductions in average, downwind pollutant concentrations by as much as 50% when this vegetation was thick with no gaps or openings. However, the presence of highly porous vegetation with gaps resulted in similar or sometimes higher concentrations than measured in a clearing with no vegetation. The combination of air quality and meteorological measurements indicated that the vegetation affects downwind pollutant concentrations through attenuation of meteorological and vehicle-induced turbulence as air passes through the vegetation, enhanced mixing as portions of the traffic pollution plume are blocked and forced over the vegetation, and through particulate deposition onto leaf and branch surfaces. Computational fluid dynamic modeling highlighted that density of the vegetation barrier affects pollutant levels, with a leaf area density of 3.0 m2 m−3 or higher needed to ensure downwind pollutant reductions for airborne particulate matter. These results show that roadside bushes and trees can be preserved or planted along highways and other localized pollution sources to mitigate air quality and human health impacts near the source if the planting adheres to important characteristics of height, thickness, and density with full coverage from the ground to the top of the canopy. The results also highlight the importance of planting denser vegetation and maintaining the integrity and structure of these vegetation barriers to achieve pollution reductions and not contribute to unintended increases in downwind air pollutant concentrations.