WM-Air have released a ‘Trees and Urban Air Quality’ briefing note, which provides an overview of the impact and benefits of trees on urban air quality.
It highlights 3 key messages:
1. Trees alone are not the solution to air pollution. They can create a localised positive benefit for air quality by changing the dispersion of pollution, but the amount of pollution deposited onto trees is not significant on an urban scale.
2. Air pollution can damage trees.
3. Emissions of VOCs from trees can, under the correct conditions, create ozone pollution. This is only relevant when creating new woodlands.