Search Results (3)

Potted plants have been reported to uptake VOCs and help “cleaning” the air. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study in which two species of plants (peace lily and Boston fern) and three kinds of substrates (expanded clay, soil, and activated carbon) were tested and monitored on their capacity to deplete formaldehyde and CO₂ in a glass chamber. Formaldehyde and CO₂ were selected as indicators to evaluate the biofiltration efficacy of 28 different test conditions; relative humidity (RH) and temperature (T) were monitored during the experiments. To evaluate the efficacy of every test, the clean air delivery rate (CADR) was calculated. Overall, soil had the best performance in removing formaldehyde (~0.07–0.16 m³/h), while plants, in particular, were more effective in reducing CO₂ concentrations (peace lily 0.01m³/h) (Boston fern 0.02–0.03 m³/h). On average, plants (~0.03 m³/h) were as effective as dry expanded clay (0.02–0.04 m³/h) in depleting formaldehyde from the chamber. Regarding air-cleaning performance, Boston ferns presented the best performance among the plant species, and the best performing substrate was the soil. Full article

Humans spend more than 80% of their lives indoors resulting in an increased demand for high indoor air quality (IAQ). At the same time, indoor air tends to be at least twice as polluted as outdoor air, and health threats caused by long-term exposure to indoor air pollution are rising. Few experiments under real-life conditions have demonstrated positive effects of indoor plants on parameters related to IAQ, resulting in improved humidity and temperature, reduced particulate matter concentration and CO₂ levels. Indoor living walls allow the presence of many plants—without taking up valuable floor area. This article presents the results of conducted measurements on four do-it-yourself green walls planted with different plant species that are typically used for vertical indoor greenery (golden pothos, Boston fern, spider plant and a combination of plants) in a school setting. Besides the parameters of air humidity and temperature, CO₂, mold spore and particulate matter levels, influences on room acoustics were investigated. Based on a custom-developed evaluation matrix, the plants were compared with each other and a reference without plants. The results show that no species led to deterioration of IAQ. Golden pothos had the most substantial effect and delivered improvements in all examined parameters. Full article

Container crop production has become increasingly popular, but daily water requirements of those crops from transplanting to marketable or harvestable stages are largely unavailable. To address this concern, daily water consumption of two container-grown fern species, Davallia bullata and Nephrolepis exaltata from initial transplanting to marketable size were studied using a canopy closure model. Daily actual evapotranspiration (ET_A) of D. bullata ranged from 4.6 mL to 76.5 mL with an average of 29.0 mL per plant per day. The mean cumulative ET_A was 13.2 L during 431 days of production spanning from 8 November 2006 to 4 February 2008. Two crops of N. exaltata were produced. Daily ET_A per N. exaltata plant produced in crop 1 varied from 19.0 to 241.2 mL with an average of 69.5 mL, and daily ET_A of crop 2 differed from 5.7 to 136.8 mL with a mean of 74.0 mL. Both crops had a cumulative ET_A of 9.4 L. Such differences in daily ET_A and cumulative ET_A between the two fern species raised further concern of irrigation practices in commercial foliage plant production as multiple species are commonly produced in one greenhouse and share the same irrigation schedule. Comparing daily ET_A and cumulative ET_A values of the ferns with the other studied foliage plants indicated that daily ET_A and cumulative ET_A are species specific. Therefore, to improve irrigation efficiency, daily ET_A and cumulative ET_A values of major container-grown plants should be established. Implementing the research-based daily ET_A and cumulative ET_A in container plant production should reduce irrigation water leaching and runoff and conserving freshwater resources. Full article