This study examined the impact of air pollution, and more specifically the impact of traffic, on the
health of urban trees. Due to the lack of data sets, urban tree growth modeling often relies on the existing
knowledge of forest. However, urban trees differ from forest trees. One of the aims of the study is to fill the
lacunae in this field.
It was hypothesized that in streets with higher traffic volume, both growth parameters and health status of
trees would be decreased in comparison to trees growing in streets with lower traffic volume.
Four of the most common tree species growing in Berlin were selected: Tilia cordata Mill., Acer platanoides L.,
Platanus acerifolia (Aiton) Willd., and Aesculus hippocastanum L. Apart from the tree age and stand position
(high and low traffic volume), the height and circumference were measured and the following traits were
analyzed: trunk condition, crown defoliation, leaf discoloration, the presence of hollows and nests. The
streets that were selected for the analysis were located in the center of Berlin. For each species, four streets
with high traffic volume and four streets with low traffic volume were chosen.
The car traffic volume had a significant impact on growth parameters. Significant differences in height and
circumference between trees growing on streets with low or high traffic volume were noticed; the higher
the traffic volume, the lower the tree height and circumference. This tendency is particularly visible in P.
acerifolia, T. cordata and A. platanoides. This relation was observed in all species except for A. hippocastanum.
In the conditions of high-traffic volume, A. platanoides is thriving revealing the smallest differences in vitali-
ty and condition of the crown, trunk and leaves. The greatest differences in the health condition of the trees
among the analyzed variants of traffic intensity were observed in the case of T. cordata. Lime trees seem to
be most suitable for planting in the streets with lower traffic volume, whereas A. platanoides seems most
suitable for planting in the streets with high traffic volume. P. acerifolia, despite its generally good health, is
suffering from several progressing diseases. It is worth considering whether it should be gradually replaced
with more resistant species. Aesculus, especially A. hippocastanum, are currently the most endangered ones.
An alternative to this species can be A. carnea.
Ta witryna wykorzystuje pliki cookies do przechowywania informacji na Twoim komputerze. Pliki cookies stosujemy w celu świadczenia usług na najwyższym poziomie, w tym w sposób dostosowany do indywidualnych potrzeb. Korzystanie z witryny bez zmiany ustawień dotyczących cookies oznacza, że będą one zamieszczane w Twoim komputerze. W każdym momencie możesz dokonać zmiany ustawień dotyczących cookies
Informacja
SZANOWNI CZYTELNICY!
UPRZEJMIE INFORMUJEMY, ŻE BIBLIOTEKA FUNKCJONUJE W NASTĘPUJĄCYCH GODZINACH:
Wypożyczalnia i Czytelnia Główna: poniedziałek – piątek od 9.00 do 19.00