ABSTRACT
In conventional air pollution control, established engineering methods are applied to mitigate air pollution. A typical air pollution problem can be resolved through one of the following three mitigation options: enhancing dispersion; adopting pollution prevention by process change; and using end-of-pipe control device. It is interesting to note that any climate change-driven environmental perturbation would also implicate the role of trees in mitigating air pollution. The capability of porous vegetation strips to act as natural filters suggests their application as a cost-effective mitigation measure to alleviate air pollution on a regional scale. Implementation of green belts has been considered as an effective measure for mitigating air pollution at source. For both forest canopy and shelter belt, use of vegetation in mitigating air pollution can be optimised through appropriate design and species selection. The trade-off between air pollution deposition to and biogenic emissions from the trees for the model scenarios are ranked using an urban tree air-quality score.
