Dust-retaining capacity of eleven evergreen coniferous trees in Beijing, China

Abstract

Aiming to provide basic information on the dust-retaining capacity of different tree species and to develop criteria for selecting landscape trees using the elution-weighing method, eleven evergreen coniferous species, which are widely used in Beijing, were selected to evaluate their dust-retention capacity in both field and indoor studies during winter and spring of 2014. The dust retention per leaf dry weight of each species was quantified and correlated to the retaining capacity at the whole tree level. Based on dust retention per unit leaf dry weight and per plant, cluster analysis on different tree species was performed. Results showed that the dust-retaining capacity significantly differed among tree species, but the ranking changed based on the two different measurement units. The 11 evergreen coniferous species were divided into four categories representing different comprehensive dust-retaining capacity levels. Cedrus deodara and Sabina chinensis have outstanding comprehensive dust-retaining capacity. Dust retention was closely related to the surface characteristics of leaves, the plant structure, and the total leaf surface. Multiple factors should be taken into account when assessing the dust-retaining capacity of different tree species.