Can Green Walls Reduce Outdoor Ambient Particulate Matter, Noise Pollution and Temperature?

Paull, Naomi; Krix, Daniel; Torpy, Fraser; Irga, Peter

doi:10.3390/ijerph17145084

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Can Green Walls Reduce Outdoor Ambient Particulate Matter, Noise Pollution and Temperature?

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Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia

Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia

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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(14), 5084; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145084

Received: 3 June 2020 / Revised: 26 June 2020 / Accepted: 10 July 2020 / Published: 14 July 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytoremediation of Polluted Environments: Current Status and Future Directions)

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Abstract

Green walls have previously demonstrated the capacity to reduce particulate matter (PM), noise pollution, and temperature conditions in manipulative experiments and computational models. There is, however, minimal evidence that green walls can influence ambient environmental conditions, especially taking into account the variable environmental conditions encountered in situ. The aim of this paper was to determine if green walls have a quantitative effect on ambient air quality in an urban environment. Ambient PM, noise, and temperature were recorded at 12 green wall and adjacent reference wall locations across a dense urban centre, over a 6-month period. The results indicated that PM levels and temperature did not significantly differ between the green wall and reference wall sites. Ambient noise at the green wall sites, however, was significantly lower than at the reference wall locations. It is suggested that mechanically assisted, or ‘active’ green wall systems may have a higher PM and temperature reduction capacity, and if so, they will be more valuable for installation in situ compared to standard passive systems, although this will require further research. View Full-Text

Keywords: green walls; air quality; noise pollution; urban heat island; traffic density

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Paull, N.; Krix, D.; Torpy, F.; Irga, P. Can Green Walls Reduce Outdoor Ambient Particulate Matter, Noise Pollution and Temperature? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 5084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145084

AMA Style

Paull N, Krix D, Torpy F, Irga P. Can Green Walls Reduce Outdoor Ambient Particulate Matter, Noise Pollution and Temperature? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(14):5084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145084

Chicago/Turabian Style

Paull, Naomi, Daniel Krix, Fraser Torpy, and Peter Irga. 2020. "Can Green Walls Reduce Outdoor Ambient Particulate Matter, Noise Pollution and Temperature?" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 14: 5084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145084

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Can Green Walls Reduce Outdoor Ambient Particulate Matter, Noise Pollution and Temperature?

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