Detection of morphological and eco-physiological traits of ornamental woody species to assess their potential Net O3 uptake

Jacopo Manzini; Yasutomo Hoshika; Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco; Francesco Ferrini; Emanuele Pallozzi; Luisa Neri; Rita Baraldi; Elena Paoletti; Barbara Baesso Moura

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118844

Detection of morphological and eco-physiological traits of ornamental woody species to assess their potential Net O₃ uptake

Environ Res. 2024 Apr 3;252(Pt 1):118844. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118844. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Science and Technology (DAGRI), University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine, 18, 50144, Firenze, Italy.
² Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, 90133, Italy. Electronic address: yasutomo.hoshika@cnr.it.
³ ARGANS, 260 Route du Pin Montard, BP 234, 06904, Sophia Antipolis, France; National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry "Marin Drăcea" (INCDS), 077030, Voluntari, Romania.
⁴ National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), CR Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123, Rome, Italy.
⁵ Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Science and Technology (DAGRI), University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine, 18, 50144, Firenze, Italy; Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Area della Ricerca di Torino, Strada delle Cacce, 73, 10135, Torino (To), Italy.
⁶ Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 00015, Monterotondo, Italy.
⁷ Institute of Bioeconomy (IBE), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy.
⁸ Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, 90133, Italy.

PMID: 38579998
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118844

Abstract

Urban greening can improve cities' air quality by filtering the main gaseous pollutants such as tropospheric ozone (O₃). However, the pollutant removal capacity offered by woody species strongly depends on eco-physiological and morphological traits. Woody species with higher stomatal conductance (g_s) can remove more gases from the atmosphere, but other species can worsen air quality due to high O₃ forming potential (OFP), based on their emitting rates of biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOCs) and Leaf Mass per Area (LMA). Presently, there is a lack of data on eco-physiological (g_s, bVOCs emissions) and foliar traits (LMA) for several ornamental species used in urban greening programs, which does not allow assessment of their O₃ removal capacity and OFP. This study aimed to (i) parameterize g_s, assess bVOCs emissions and LMA of 14 ornamental woody species commonly used in Mediterranean urban greening, and (ii) model their Net O₃ uptake. The g_s Jarvis model was parameterized considering various environmental conditions alongside isoprene and monoterpene foliar bVOCs emission rates trapped in the field and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results are helpful for urban planning and landscaping; suggesting that Catalpa bignonioides and Gleditsia triacanthos have excellent O₃ removal capacity due to their high maximum g_s (g_max) equal to 0.657 and 0.597 mol H₂O m^-2 s^-1. Regarding bVOCs, high isoprene (16.75 μg g_dw^-1 h^-1) and monoterpene (13.12 μg g_dw^-1 h^-1) emission rates were found for Rhamnus alaternus and Cornus mas. In contrast, no bVOCs emissions were detected for Camellia sasanqua and Paulownia tomentosa. In conclusion, 11 species showed a positive Net O₃ uptake, while the use of large numbers of R. alaternus, C. mas, and Chamaerops humilis for urban afforestation planning are not recommended due to their potential to induce a deterioration of outdoor air quality.

Keywords: Air pollutants; Ornamental species; Ozone forming potential; Stomatal conductance; Urban forestry; bVOCs emissions.