Science & Research
Purpose: To use research to understand the effects of urban trees as related to air quality and create models for their use as air pollution mitigators
Urban Forests and Air Quality in Southern California – The Center of Urban Forest Research (CUFR) and ENVIRON propose the implementation of a project to better understand the effects of millions of trees in the urban forest of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties on regional air quality today and in the future. To accomplish this they propose to develop a comprehensive urban forest model that includes those factors about trees that have the potential to affect air quality. They also propose to enhance the current meteorological and air quality modeling approach to accurately use urban forest model information to estimate future regional air quality. The two completed models would then be used to conduct scenario analyses leading to quantitative estimates of urban forest air quality contributions and better understanding of how future urban forest development efforts can be optimized to maximize regional air quality benefits. The project will be completed in three phases: The Urban Forest Model; The Meteorological and Air Quality Models, and Public Education. CUFR will contribute principal investigators time to the project. ENVIRON intends to collaborate with one or more university research groups working to more accurately reproduce the atmosphere’s response to alternative urban forest scenarios. (Multiple year funding is requested.)
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air to form carbohydrates that are used in the tree’s structure and function.