Urban Trees Remove Fine Particulate Air Pollution

June 21, 2013

In the first effort to estimate the overall impact of a city's urban forest on concentrations of fine particulate pollution (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5), a U.S. Forest Service and Davey Institute study found that urban trees and forests are saving an average of one life every year per city. In New York City, trees save an average of eight lives every year.

Fine particulate air pollution has serious health effects, including premature mortality, pulmonary inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis, and altered cardiac functions. In a study recently published on-line by the journal Environmental Pollution, researchers David Nowak and Robert Hoehn of the U.S. Forest Service and Satoshi Hirabayashi and Allison Bodine of the Davey Institute in Syracuse, N.Y., estimated how much fine particulate matter is removed by trees in 10 cities, their impact on PM2.5 concentrations and associated values and impacts on human health.

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