Vegetative Barriers Research Articles

Vetiver [Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty]: An Aromatic Root Crop for Soil and Water Conservation

Khus grass or vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty) is a hardy perennial aromatic grass with long enormous tufted fibrous root system. Commercially, dry roots are used for extraction of essential oil that acts as a fixative in perfumery industry worldwide. Besides, vetiver roots are used in medicinal and pharmaceutical industries to treat rheumatism, arthritis, gouty joints, paralysis and indigestion. Roots and root oil have strong anti-oxidant, stimulant, carminative and cooling properties and used in Ayurvedic medicines. Traditionally, vetiver plants are being used to cultivate across hill slopes, waterways and wastelands to reduce runoff and soil conservation. During 1990’s World bank was promoting use of vetiver grass as contour vegetative barrier in upland farming systems of Asian and African countries. Further, recent studies report the use of vetiver in phytoremediation, reclamation of mined lands and soil and water detoxification in addition to carbon sequestration. Due to introduction of modern cultivation practices, traditional soil conservation practices are being vanished gradually over a period of time. In this regard, an attempt has been made to review the scientific evidence for use of vetiver grass as a soil and water conservation measure along with phytoremediation.

Harnessing the Experience of Research and Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in Arunachal Pradesh, India

Traditional knowledge includes methods for nutrient management that rely on natural resources and minimize reliance on artificial inputs. Techniques such as using botanical extracts like Bilb Rasyan and Gaajar Ghaas Svaras, as well as incorporating organic materials like cow urine and plant residues, help enrich the soil with essential nutrients. Farmers in various regions have implemented ITK practices for soil conservation. For instance, the use of Vetiver grass as a vegetative barrier helps prevent soil erosion and stabilizes slopes. This method is cost-effective and adaptable to different environmental conditions. Advocating for policies that recognize and support the integration of ITKs into mainstream agricultural research and extension services is crucial. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act (PPVFR Act) in India provides legal recognition and protection for traditional knowledge and farmer innovations. The synthesis of Indigenous Technical Knowledge and modern agricultural research not only supports the livelihoods of local farmers but also contributes to environmental health and cultural preservation. This approach holds the promise of a more sustainable and prosperous future for Arunachal Pradesh and can serve as an inspiring model for other regions seeking to harmonize tradition with innovation.

Assessing and anticipating environmental challenges in Lahore, Pakistan: future implications of air pollution on sustainable development and environmental governance.

Urban environment and air quality are changing primarily due to land use land cover (LULC) changes, economic activity, and urbanization. Air pollution has been increasingly acknowledged as a major issue for cities due to its extensive effects on health and well-being. As the second most populous city in the country, Lahorefaces alarming levels of air pollutants, whichinduced this study to focus on the pervasive issue of air pollution in Lahore. For this, the study collected air pollutants data from the Environmental Protection Department of Punjab and analyzed them using the ARIMA model. In the research results, both the observed data and predictive models uncovered concerning trends in pollutant concentrations, ultimatelyportraying a concerning picture for air quality management. Carbon monoxide (CO) levels show a consistent rise, surpassing Pakistan's environmental standards by 2025. Similarly, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations escalate, exceeding prescribed standards. Ground-level ozone (O3) also demonstrates a substantial increase, surpassing standards by 2025. Both PM2.5 and PM10 exhibit marked upward trends, projected to exceed recommended limits, particularly PM10 throughout the study year. The Air Quality Index exhibits an observable upward trend, fluctuating between 70 and 442 from 2015 to 2020. Similarly, a positive correlation was found between population growth and land use conversion into residential areas. Projections suggest a continuous increase, potentially hitting a severe level of 500 during winter by 2025. These findings point to an impending air pollution crisis, demanding urgent action to address the hazardous situation in the city. The study recommends that urban air pollution should be reduced, and the negative health effects of air pollution should be minimized using vegetation barriers, screens, and greening initiatives. Strict regulations and monitoring initiatives need to be put in place in big cities to monitor pollution and vegetation.

Soil Erosion Risk Analysis in the Ría de Arosa (Pontevedra, Spain) Using the RUSLE and GIS Techniques

Soil erosion in coastal areas, driven by global change and human activity, poses a significant threat to ecological and economic stability. This research investigates water erosion in the southeast of the Ría de Arosa (Pontevedra, Spain), utilizing the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation model and Geographic Information System technologies. Key factors analyzed include rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, topography, land cover, and conservation practices. High-resolution maps (1 × 1 m pixels) identified areas at high risk of erosion. Vulnerable zones, such as coastal cliffs and vineyards, show severe erosion rates exceeding 50 t/ha/year (>5 mm/year), with the most extreme zones reaching up to 200 t/ha/year (>200 mm/year). These results emphasize that intervention could be required or recommended. Suggested measures include reforestation, effective agricultural land management, or the implementation of vegetative barriers to reduce erosion. These areas, characterized by steep slopes and sparse vegetation, are particularly susceptible to soil loss, necessitating specific conservation efforts. The results underscore the need for sustainable coastal management practices and preventive strategies to protect this vulnerable coastal zone. Implementing these measures is crucial to mitigating the impacts of soil erosion, preserving natural resources, and ensuring long-term ecological and economic resilience in the region.

Noise pollution assessment and management in rare earth mining areas: a case study of Kollam, Kerala, India.

Noise pollution is an unintentional consequence of mining activities, needing rigorous assessment, monitoring, and mitigation techniques to reduce its impact on local residents and ecosystems. The study specifically examines the noise pollution from rare earth mining activities in the Neendakara-Kayamkulam (NK) coastal belt, Kollam, Kerala, India, a region rich in ilmenite, rutile, sillimanite, zircon, and monazite. Despite the known environmental and health impacts of noise pollution, there is limited specific data on its magnitude and sources in this region, as well as a lack of effective mitigation strategies tailored to rare earth mining operations. Studies have indicated that mining operations, such as the movement of heavy mineral sands, considerably elevate noise levels, which have an effect on the environment's quality and public health. This study seeks to fill the gap by geospatial mapping and assessing the noise levels and recommend measures to effectively mitigate noise pollution. Systematic noise measurements were conducted at 48 suitable locations within the NK coastal belt, including residential, commercial, industrial, coastal, and silence zones. The noise levels vary from 49.1dB(A) near a religious place to 82.4dB(A) near the local industry. The study employs geospatial noise mapping and land cover superimposition to implement class-specific mitigation measures for noise pollution in a coastal vicinity mixed land use area, including natural and vegetative barriers, operational scheduling, zoning, and land use planning.

A detailed simulation study on radionuclide dispersion under spent fuel road transportation conditions: Effects of vessel type and coniferous vegetation growth

Vegetation barriers are an important environmental characteristic of spent fuel road transportation accidents. Spent fuel vessels may be affected by force majeure factors during transportation, which leads to damage to spent fuel assemblies and containers and can cause radionuclides to gradually release from assemblies to vessels to the external environment. In this work, considering the growth periods of coniferous vegetation barriers and vessel type, a radionuclide dispersion model based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was established by adding a decay term and a pressure loss term. The simulations showed that, first, compared to the small (Type-II) vessel, the effects of fluid flow around the large vessel (Type-I) have a more significant impact on radionuclide dispersion. The backflow around the Type-I vessel causes leaked radionuclides to disperse towards the vessel, and the larger the vessel is, the more significant the rise of the leaked radionuclide plume tail will be due to the increased negative pressure gradient area. Moreover, the area contaminated exceeding the maximum allowable concentration by radioactivity for the Type-I vessel is reduced gradually with the growth of coniferous vegetation barriers due to the weakening of the backflow effect by growing vegetation. Second, compared to vegetation barriers of 15 years and 23 years, the horizontal distance exceeding the maximum allowable concentration of the leaked 131I dispersion from Type II vessels near vegetation barriers for 12 years is the longest. The older the vegetation barrier is, the shorter the horizontal dispersion range, and the shape of radionuclide dispersion gradually transforms from flat to semicircular with vegetation barrier growth, but this could cause a greater radioactive accumulation effect near the leakage point, and the maximum concentration of leaked 131I reached 0.54 kBq·m−3 for leaked radionuclides from the Type II vessel under vegetation barriers of 23 years. In addition, improvement suggestions based on the proposed method are presented, which will enable the Standards Institutes to apply the research methodologies described herein across various scenarios. Environmental ImplicationCompared to nonradioative pollutants, radioactive pollutants are intercepted by vegetation barriers and then migrate to the soil through leaves, stems, and roots, which can contaminate the surrounding environment. Considering the effects of vessel type and coniferous vegetation growth, a radionuclide dispersion model based on CFD was established. Suggestions for decontaminating radioactive pollution areas have been proposed based on the simulation results of hypothetical scenarios. The scenario applicability improvements based on the proposed model could assist relevant Standards Institutes to making improving measures.

The impact of military operations in 2022 on the wind-erosion hazard of the Ukrainian right bank

Wind erosion is caused by strong winds blowing continuously in one direction over unprotected vegetation or plant debris on the soil surface. It can be controlled by plant barriers such as forest belts. The military actions in 2022 as a result of Russian aggression dramatically changed the state of the existing network of forest belts. It was in the forest belts that the defense lines were built, which were subjected to the most intense artillery and rocket attacks and were the target of assault operations. Remote sensing methods, in particular Sentinel-2 satellite images for 2021 and 2022, were used to analyze changes in the condition of forest belts during hostilities in two research sites in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) was used to determine the degree of forest degradation. The EVI index, in addition to the chlorophyll content of leaves, also responds to structural variations in the tree canopy, tree crown shape, and leaf area index. The index also takes into account the transmission of light through the tree canopy and the effect of atmospheric aerosols on brightness in the red region of the spectrum. In other words, the EVI index is very informative in terms of assessing the condition of forest belts as erosion control vegetation barriers. Studies have shown that most of the artificial forest plantations resulting from the hostilities in the spring and summer of 2022 can either perform their soil protection functions to a limited extent or are not able to counteract potential wind erosion at all. The loss of anti-erosion properties of forest belts as a result of military degradation leads to a significant increase in wind and erosion hazards. Calculations based on the WEQ methodology show that the potential volume of soil losses due to wind erosion from fields already unprotected by forest belts, plowed and without vegetation cover, increases from 3.9–4.7 t/ha per year to 7.0–8.4 t/ha per year, which often exceeds the permissible erosion rates and can lead to soil degradation and a decrease in soil fertility in the future. Post-war reforestation will take a long time, and therefore it is necessary to use fairly simple agrotechnical measures against wind erosion, in particular “conservation” tillage technologies, including no-till, which can stabilize the situation with wind-erosion soil degradation and fertility for a certain period of time.

ОЦЕНКА ОТНОСИТЕЛЬНОЙ УСЛОВНОЙ МАССЫ ЗАГРЯЗНИТЕЛЯ

The article presents a calculation of environmental performance indicators, an assessment of the rela-tive conditional mass of the pollutant adsorbed by the vegetation barrier

Use of green vegetable barriers as environmental noise attenuators: a case study in Irati, Parana

Use of green vegetable barriers as environmental noise attenuators: a case study in Irati, Parana

Dynamics of the aeolian landform at the coastal geosite of Parangtritis sand dune area, Yogyakarta

In 2014, Kelud, an active volcano in East Java, ejected ashes (hereafter termed KA; Kelud ash) that reportedly reached as far as Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY). The KA deposits are observable in, among others, the coastal sand dune area in Parangtritis. Due to the active aeolian process, the KA layers can be found at different depths five years after the eruption. Thus, the KA can be used as a marker of the post-2014 aeolian activities at the Parangtritis dune, which was once classified as a degraded land and later recognized as a coastal geosite, ultimately allowing us to calculate the volume and sand transport rate. The research surveys performed at 25 points discovered volcanic ash layers at 1 cm to 26 cm below the surface. At some observed points, the ash deposits were found on the surface and continuously transported. This research observed an area of 60,000 m2 with an average of 8.5 cm thick sand layers lying above the KA layer. Based on the calculation, the total volume of the transported sand at the Parangtritis sand dune from 2014 to 2019 was approximately 5,100 m3. This volume is considerably small owing to various obstacles in the transport zones. Based on the five-year dynamic of the sand dune, this study suggested that restoration needs to be conducted immediately particularly in eliminating vegetation barriers to maintain the sediment balance (erosion-transport-sedimentation) of the coastal sand dune area.

The impact of vegetative and solid roadway barriers on particulate matter concentration in urban settings.

A potentially important approach for reducing exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is the use of roadside barriers to reduce dispersion from highway sources to adjacent populated areas. The Trees Reducing Environmental Exposures (TREE) study investigated the effect of vegetative and solid barriers along major controlled-access highways in Atlanta, Georgia, USA by simultaneously sampling TRAP concentration at roadside locations in front of barriers and at comparison locations down-range. We measured black carbon (BC) mass concentration, particle number concentration (PNC), and the size distribution of ultrafine aerosols. Our sample sites encompassed the range of roadway barrier options in the Atlanta area: simple chain-link fences, solid barriers, and vegetative barriers. We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) to estimate the effect of barrier type on the ratio of particle concentrations at the comparison site relative to the roadside site while controlling for covariates including wind direction, temperature, relative humidity, traffic volume, and distance to the roadway. Vegetative barriers exhibited the greatest TRAP reduction in terms of BC mass concentration (37% lower behind a vegetative barrier) as well as PNC (6.7% lower), and sensitivity analysis was consistent with this effect being more pronounced when the barrier was downwind of the highway. The ultrafine size distribution was comprised of modestly smaller particles on the highway side of the barrier. Non-highway particle sources were present at all sample sites, most commonly motor vehicle emissions from nearby arterials or secondary streets, which may have obscured the effect of roadside barriers.

Uneven PM2.5 dispersion pattern across an open-road vegetation barrier: Effects of planting combination and wind condition

The increased traffic-induced emissions contribute to the exacerbation of airborne particulate matter (PM) pollution. The vegetation barrier (VB) provides a means of reducing the traffic-induced pollutants. However, the effects of VB configuration and local environment on PM dispersion and reduction remain unclear, and thereby needs further advancement on VB design and characteristics. This study constructed a 3D numerical model based on field survey in an open-road VB of Shanghai urban area, and then simulated PM2.5 dispersion under various VB configurations and wind conditions. The results consolidated that the presence of the VB reduced PM2.5 concentration by over 15 % across the VB. A greater bush coverage (2/3 and more) reduces over 14 % more PM2.5 pollution across the VB than that for a greater arbor coverage, and reduces 6 % more PM2.5 pollution in the sidewalk canyon. Given a certain bush planting coverage, planting bushes in the windward area is beneficial to the overall PM2.5 reduction by approximately 4–14 %. The wind directions determine the overall pattern of PM2.5 dispersion across the VB plot, decreasing trends for perpendicular winds but fluctuating curves for parallel winds Wind velocities largely contribute to the changing rates of PM2.5 concentration, the increased wind speed from 1 m/s to 7 m/s accumulated 5–11 % more PM2.5 pollution across the VB plot. This study provides practical insights for effective VB designs in order to mitigate the PM pollution and the human's exposure to PM2.5 in urban open-road environments.

Resolving the effect of roadside vegetation barriers as a near-road air pollution mitigation strategy

A multi-regime framework adequately resolves the complex physical mechanisms of roadside barriers on near-road air quality in a computationally efficient Gaussian-based model.

Influence of obstacles on urban canyon ventilation and air pollutant concentration: An experimental assessment

Air pollution in cities, intensified by vehicular traffic emissions and reduced ventilation, poses a significant health risk. Obstacles, like solid or vegetation barriers, are being considered as strategies to reduce pollution exposure for pedestrians and nearby residents in street canyons. This study utilises wind tunnel experiments, to simulate a typical urban canyon with street intersections on both sides, in a 1:200 scale and an H/W=0.5, positioned perpendicular to the free stream wind flow. A passive scalar representing a vehicular pollutant is released along the length of the street canyon. Concentration measurements inside the canyon are performed to determine the effect of parked cars, boundary walls, hedges and trees on pollutant concentration exposure for pedestrians on the sidewalk. Results show that one circulating vortex is generated within the canyon, driving the pollutant to accumulate along the leeward (upwind) wall. Tightly parked cars, boundary walls and hedges, placed along the sidewalk near the leeward wall, can reduce pedestrian pollutant exposure by 15 %, 23 % and 11 % respectively along this sidewalk. Attributes such as obstacle height, surface roughness and porosity play a key role in their performance. However, trees, when placed in the same area, increase pedestrian pollutant exposure by 51 % and 17 % under dense and sparse tree arrangements, respectively. While a broader analysis that considers the variability of vegetation attributes (e.g., porosity, stand density) is desirable, this study remains crucial for validating numerical simulations and suggesting optimal urban measures to reduce pollution exposure for citizens.

Mitigating PM2.5 exposure with vegetation barrier and building designs in urban open-road environments based on numerical simulations

Vegetation barriers (VB) are commonly regarded as an effective strategy in urban planning for mitigating traffic-induced airborne pollutants and associated exposure of road-users and nearby urban dwellers. Locally verified evidence is needed to better understand the nexus between VB designs and PM2.5 dispersion and provide practical insights for the creation of a healthy urban environment. This study constructs a 3D numerical model using in-situ measurements via field campaign, and then simulates PM2.5 dispersion in an open-road environment in Shanghai, China, characterized by varying VB designs (short vs. tall bushes in different location and coverage) and building structure (present vs. absent). The simulation results reveal the effectiveness of VB in PM2.5 mitigation in the sidewalk canyon, regardless the presence of building structure. Bushes at the windward side, regardless their size, tend to be more effective than arbors. The building structure flanked the sidewalk also contribute to PM2.5 mitigation in the sidewalk canyon. Various scenarios using short bushes consistently reduce PM2.5 concentrations along building façade, which might be attributed to the formation of vortex circulations in the sidewalk canyon. In contrast, a greater tall-bush coverage (2/3 and above, regardless of their location) tends to exacerbate PM2.5 pollution along building façade. Thus, constructing VB with a large proportion of short bushes could be a practical solution to minimizing the exposure of both sidewalk users and building inhabitants to traffic-induced PM2.5 in open-road environments.

Archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park along the Colorado River are eroding owing to six decades of Glen Canyon Dam operations

The archaeological record documenting human history in deserts is commonly concentrated along rivers in terraces or other landforms built by river sediment deposits. Today that record is at risk in many river valleys owing to human resource and infrastructure development activities, including the construction and operation of dams. We assessed the effects of the operations of Glen Canyon Dam – which, since its closure in 1963, has imposed drastic changes to flow, sediment supply and distribution, and riparian vegetation – on a population of 362 archaeological sites in the Colorado River corridor through Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. We leverage 50 years of evidence from aerial photographs and more than 30 years of field observations and measurements of archaeological-site topography and wind patterns to evaluate changes in the physical integrity of archaeological sites using two geomorphology-based site classification systems. We find that most archaeological sites are eroding; moreover, most are at increased risk of continuing to erode, due to six decades of operations of Glen Canyon Dam. Results show that the wind-driven (aeolian) supply of river-sourced sand, essential for covering archaeological sites and protecting them from erosion, has decreased for most sites since 1973 owing to effects of long-term dam operations on river sediment supply and riparian vegetation expansion on sandbars. Results show that the proportion of sites affected by erosion from gullies controlled by the local base-level of the Colorado River has increased since 2000. These changes to landscape processes affecting archaeological site integrity limit the ability of the National Park Service and Grand Canyon-affiliated Native American Tribes to achieve environmental management goals to maintain or improve site integrity in situ. We identify three environmental management opportunities that could be used to a greater extent to decrease the risk of erosion and increase the potential for in-situ preservation of archaeological sites. Environmental management opportunities are: 1) sediment-rich controlled river floods to increase the aeolian supply of river-sourced sand, 2) extended periods of low river flow to increase the aeolian supply of river-sourced sand, 3) the removal of riparian vegetation barriers to the aeolian transport of river-sourced sand.

Effect of urban green infrastructure on pedestrian exposure to ultrafine particles: A case study of Guangzhou, China

Traffic emissions, as the dominant source of urban Ultrafine Particles (UFP), pose great potential health risks to pedestrians who commute near busy roads. Green infrastructure is regarded as an effective measure for urban particulate pollution abatement. In this study, two weeks of mobile measurements of pedestrian UFP exposure were performed during morning and evening rush hours, along greenway and sidewalk with and without vegetation barrier near an arterial road. UFP concentration was observed to be 28.7% lower with weakened fluctuations on vegetation barrier sidewalk than on open sidewalk in average, while UFP lung-deposited surface area concentration decreased by 21.1% accordingly. Vegetation mitigated UFP concentration in general, however, locally intense heavy-duty vehicles activities might weaken this effect occasionally. The weekly and diurnal variations of UFP concentration and the greenery effect performance were attributable to the combined effect of practical traffic situations, meteorological conditions, and crowd activities. Gray relational analysis indicated that temperature (γ = 0.814), relative humidity (γ = 0.787), traffic volume (γ = 0.764) and heavy-duty vehicles count (γ = 0.741) were the top four impact factors on roadside UFP concentration during observation.

Evidence of NOx and O3 concentration reduction by kudzu (Pueraria lobata) invasion at a Japanese highway

Generally, urban green infrastructure aids in the mitigation of air pollution. However, little is known about the role of densely packed vegetation canopies, such as Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi (kudzu) in air pollution mitigation. Here, we conducted field measurements of tropospheric ozone (O3) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) concentrations on a highway embankment slope with and without kudzu canopies in Japan. We measured O3 and NOx concentrations above and within the kudzu canopies by using a passive sampler several times during the growing season in 2019. The results demonstrated that both O3 and NOx concentrations reduced within the kudzu canopy throughout the growing season, suggesting that kudzu generally acts as “vegetation barrier” for both gas pollutants along the highway roadside. Depending on meteorological and vegetative surface conditions, the reduction rate within the canopy ranged from 11% to 64% and from −2% to 33% for O3 and NOx concentrations, respectively. Considering lower canopy height but higher leaf area density of kudzu than those for urban tree plantations or forest patches along the roadside, kudzu can be useful as green infrastructure depending on situations. We also found that the higher the leaf area index of kudzu canopies, the higher the reduction rates of O3 and NOx. Depending on the maintenance cost for roadside tree planting, the minimal management without targeting the eradication of kudzu over a certain area can be an option for realizing green infrastructure at least for maintaining local air quality during the growing season.

Numerical evaluation of the use of vegetation as a shelterbelt for enhancing the wind and thermal comfort in peripheral and lateral-type skygardens in highrise buildings

Skygardens or skycourts are a unique architectural intervention in the built environment, enhancing the social, economic, and environmental values of the building. It allows occupants to connect and experience outdoor freshness within a semi-enclosed environment. However, skygardens located on a highrise building may generate intense wind gusts, endangering the safety of occupants. Using a validated computational fluid dynamics model, this study investigates the potential of various vegetative barriers or shelterbelts in attenuating the high wind speeds encountered in such spaces and the impact on wind and thermal comfort. Three skygarden configurations were investigated with and without vegetative barriers, simplified and modelled as porous zones, and their effect was studied on the velocity and temperature profile at the occupants’ level. The results indicate that while hedges and trees can offer resistance to airflow, trees provide higher temperature reduction. However, a combination of vegetative and geometrical barriers provides the most optimal condition in the skygarden. The study has identified the importance of assessing wind attenuation characteristics of tree plantations on highrise skygarden, and the results can be used in designing intervention strategies. Moreover, vegetation can attenuate pollutants and mitigate poor air quality by surface deposition, and future studies should investigate in that direction.

Nature-based solution for mitigation of pedestrians’ exposure to airborne particles of traffic origin in a tropical city

This study investigated the effectiveness of vegetation barriers (VBs) planted along roadsides in a highly urbanized tropical Asian city-state to mitigate pedestrians’ exposure to airborne particles (PM) of traffic origin for the first time. Mobile and fixed-site measurements of black carbon (BC) and ultrafine particles (UFPs) were conducted with three types of VBs (green walkway covered with creepers; hedgerow; and three-layer hedges with varying heights) using portable PM devices. The three-layered hedges showed higher BC and UFPs reductions (the average reduction of about 60%) than the other two configurations (20–40%). Deposition of PM with diverse size, morphology and elemental composition onto VBs leaves plays an important role in reducing PM exposure concentration, providing health benefits to pedestrians involved in active mobility on roads. Our findings provide a scientific basis for formulating appropriate guidelines for selecting and installing VBs to reduce the inhalation exposure of pedestrians to PM of traffic origin.