Environmental benefits and impacts of greenspace development
Summary
This research aims to identify and assess the benefits and impacts of greenspace establishment in the urban environment.
Research objectives
- to examine the impacts of climate change on pollutant linkages
- to determine the benefits of woodland on air quality
- to demonstrate the Pollutants in the Urban Environment (PUrE) framework
- to develop and implement a strategy for Monitoring the impacts of urban greenspace(Methuselah).
Results
Scientific evidence suggests that the UK will be subjected to warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers, rising air temperatures, increased storminess and heavier rainfall. These factors may contribute to an increased risk of significant pollutant linkages forming where greenspaces have been established on regenerated land.
Tree have been shown to take up more atmospheric pollution than other types of vegetation because of their large leaf area and increased air turbulence around them. To understand how urban and peri-urban trees and greenspace can improve air quality, an the PUrE Software Platform has been created (Cleall, et al, 2009),. Modelling of pollutant indicates that some tree species indeed have a net beneficial effect, while others may not, particularly under some extreme climatic conditions.
Development of Methuselah, a strategy for monitoring the impacts of urban greenspaces.
Status
Completed
Contact
Funders and partners
The main funders and partners of this research are:
- Building Research Establishment
- CIRIA
- Forestry Commission
- May Gurney
- Sustainable Urban Brownfield Regeneration: Integrated Management (SUBR:IM)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
- University of Cambridge
- University of Reading
Forestry Commission policy
Use of land degraded by former industrial and urban activity makes an increasingly important contribution to the expansion of woodland. Trees planted on such sites offer immense social benefits in addition to the possibility of economic activity on formerly unproductive land. This programme supports the related objectives of the English Forestry Strategy and across Great Britain generally.