Cities are major actors in climate change: although they cover less than 2% of the Earth’s surface, urban areas produce more than 60% of global carbon dioxide and significant amounts of other greenhouse gas emissions. But cities are ecosystems: they are open and dynamic systems which consume, transform and release materials and energy; they develop and adapt; and they interact with humans and with other systemic components. Green Infrastructure is a relatively new approach towards strengthening the interconnection among the different ecological components played at landscape level. Green infrastructure does not concern just cities but is foreseen as a powerful planning tool to bridge the gap between urban/rural areas. A green infrastructure approach to land use and territorial planning promotes the widest range of functions that can be performed by the same asset, thereby unlocking the greatest number of ecosystem services. Urban and Periurban forests constitute the backbone of Green Infrastructure. So far, ecosystem services provided by urban forests are decisive for the future of a highly urbanized planet. Air quality is one of the most relevant factors influencing both human and environmental health and, definitively, the quality of life. Urban forest ecosystems provide a range of goods and services important for human well-being, commonly classified as provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Among them, the regulating service of air quality improvement by air pollutants removal is a crucial one for the present and future health of our cities. The research deals with the understanding of the urban forest component of the green infrastructure by scaling different datasets provided by remote and on-field investigation in order to highlight the potential performance of air pollution removal by the green infrastructure itself. The case study of the city of Florence was investigated by scaling the spatial distribution of urban forests mapped by remote sensing methods. A spatial model using vegetation indices, the Leaf Area Index (LAI), re-fined by on-field LAI survey in different structural types of urban forests, and pollution concentration data was applied to estimate PM10 and O3 removal potential. The results are discussed to predict the role of urban forests in improving air quality in the city of Florence and to identify the opportunities and threats of using a green infrastructure approach along strategic planning and management of urban areas and city regions.
Urban forest and air pollutants removal: a matter of quality of life
GARFI', Vittorio;
2015-01-01
Abstract
Cities are major actors in climate change: although they cover less than 2% of the Earth’s surface, urban areas produce more than 60% of global carbon dioxide and significant amounts of other greenhouse gas emissions. But cities are ecosystems: they are open and dynamic systems which consume, transform and release materials and energy; they develop and adapt; and they interact with humans and with other systemic components. Green Infrastructure is a relatively new approach towards strengthening the interconnection among the different ecological components played at landscape level. Green infrastructure does not concern just cities but is foreseen as a powerful planning tool to bridge the gap between urban/rural areas. A green infrastructure approach to land use and territorial planning promotes the widest range of functions that can be performed by the same asset, thereby unlocking the greatest number of ecosystem services. Urban and Periurban forests constitute the backbone of Green Infrastructure. So far, ecosystem services provided by urban forests are decisive for the future of a highly urbanized planet. Air quality is one of the most relevant factors influencing both human and environmental health and, definitively, the quality of life. Urban forest ecosystems provide a range of goods and services important for human well-being, commonly classified as provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Among them, the regulating service of air quality improvement by air pollutants removal is a crucial one for the present and future health of our cities. The research deals with the understanding of the urban forest component of the green infrastructure by scaling different datasets provided by remote and on-field investigation in order to highlight the potential performance of air pollution removal by the green infrastructure itself. The case study of the city of Florence was investigated by scaling the spatial distribution of urban forests mapped by remote sensing methods. A spatial model using vegetation indices, the Leaf Area Index (LAI), re-fined by on-field LAI survey in different structural types of urban forests, and pollution concentration data was applied to estimate PM10 and O3 removal potential. The results are discussed to predict the role of urban forests in improving air quality in the city of Florence and to identify the opportunities and threats of using a green infrastructure approach along strategic planning and management of urban areas and city regions.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
