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Estimating emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds from urban green spaces and their contributions to secondary pollution
Researchers developed a new high-resolution biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emission inventory for Beijing by updating urban vegetation data, showing significant impacts on urban air quality.
Overview
Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are natural emissions from vegetation that play a crucial role in atmospheric chemistry and urban air quality.
BVOCs account for 90% of global VOC emissions and can react with atmospheric oxidants to form secondary pollutants like ozone and organic aerosols. Urban vegetation, while covering smaller areas than natural environments, can significantly impact local air quality through BVOC emissions.
This study addresses the underestimation of BVOC emissions from urban green spaces in air quality models due to insufficient vegetation data.
Here we show that updating urban vegetation data in Beijing leads to 59% higher urban BVOC emissions and significant increases in ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation.
Previous studies often underestimated urban BVOC emissions due to limited vegetation data resolution and coverage. This study's high-resolution approach provides more accurate estimates and shows greater impacts on urban air quality than previously thought.
Understanding urban BVOC emissions is crucial for managing air quality in cities as urbanization and urban greening continue to increase globally.
The methodology can be applied to other cities to improve urban BVOC emission inventories and air quality predictions. The findings can help urban planners balance the benefits of urban greening with potential air quality impacts.
Future work should focus on building observation databases for BVOC components with field measurements and extending this methodology to construct BVOC emission inventories for urban areas across China.