Air pollution is a growing concern. It holds serious consequences for human and environmental health. Nature offers a way to mitigate pollution along with benefits like sound reduction.
Native Plants Filter Polluted Air
Native plants act as natural air filters. They can absorb and metabolize many harmful pollutants. These include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
During photosynthesis, native plants absorb harmful carbon dioxide and release valuable oxygen. This process works to reduce greenhouse gas and the urban heat island effect. Native plants feed on the compounds (CO2) that harm human and animal life. They exchange the CO2 for oxygen (O2) that we need to survive.
Windbreaks Serve a Dual Purpose
Windbreaks help protect agricultural crops, farm buildings, livestock, and communities. But they serve a dual purpose of also purifying polluted air. Vegetative environmental buffers (or VEBs) are strategically planted trees and shrubs for agriculture. They redirect air or lessen the effects of odors and gases on surrounding areas.
Windbreaks also capture and remove particulates like dust and smoke and from the air. Native species are better at storing carbon than non-natives. The consensus is that natives outperform exotics because they’re acclimatized to the soil.
Reducing Noise Pollution
Large cities have the clamor of traffic, construction, and other noise-generating activities. Native plants can help mitigate noise pollution. They act as natural sound barriers that protect city residents from “noise pollution.”
Native trees and shrubs offer dense foliage and complex branching patterns. The windbreak’s planting arrangement helps absorb and diffract sound waves. As they hit the plantings, winds move upwards reducing noise levels in their areas.
Native windbreaks can create calmer and more peaceful urban environments.
Sequestration and Its Role in Reducing Carbon Dioxide
Native trees and shrubs are notable assets in the race to remove carbon from the atmosphere. In the scientific paper “Natural Carbon Solutions for the United States.” reports native plants could sequester over 1/5th of U.S. emissions. A 21% reduction in emissions in and around major U.S. cities would improve health of humans and animals in the area.
Shop Native Plants at Forrest Keeling
The Best Natives for Your Project Start at Forrest Keeling
Native plants can play a major role in creating healthier, more sustainable cities. Besides reducing pollution and helping cool cities, they improve our sense of well-being. Forrest Keeling’s mission is to ‘restore Earth’s ecosystem one tree at a time’. Our philosophy extends ‘from the backyard to the back forty’ and into the most populated areas.
Contact us to find the optimal native plant solutions for your environmental project. Together we can create solutions for a greener, healthier world.
Forrest Keeling…it’s where the best trees begin!
