Abstract
Particulate pollution has become a serious health and environmental issue in Sri Lanka. Road side trees planted primarily for aesthetic purposes, provide coolness and shade, improve micro climate and reduce dust particles in air. However, there is little information on tree species for intercepting dust particles. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify potential tree species that could be used to reduce dust particles in urban areas. Six commonly used roadside tree species, Terminalia arjuna, Azadirachta indica, Tamarindus indica, Khaya senegalensis, Thevetia peruviana and Senna surattensis were selected for the study. Both quantitative and qualitative morphological characters which contribute effectively to mitigate dust particles were studied in all species. Based on the characters which contribute to a coarse texture and dense canopy, T. arjuna and S. surattensis can be recommended over other species for road side planting to reduce air pollution caused by dust particles and also to obtain aesthetic benefits in landscaping.
Highlights
There is a significant air pollution in Sri Lanka with increasing economic prosperity and increasing population
Shorter internodal distance was recorded in T. peruviana followed by K. senegalensis, T. arjuna and A. indica
Khaya senegalensis recorded a significantly higher leaf length followed by S. surattensis, A. indica and T. arjuna
Summary
There is a significant air pollution in Sri Lanka with increasing economic prosperity and increasing population. In Sri Lanka, Colombo Metropolitan Region was identified as an area with high air pollution followed by Kandy town area, Galle, Kurunagala and Puttalam (Anon, 2011). Vehicle emission has been found to be a significant source of particulate contaminations (Matsumoto and Tanaka, 1996). Particulate matter (PM) is minute (10 μm and smaller) solid particles and liquid particles dispersed in the atmosphere. It includes dust, ash, soot, lint, pollen, spores, algal cells and many other suspended materials (Enger and Smith, 2004). According to the aerodynamic diameter, PM can be divided into fine (PM2.5 /
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