Reforestation as a novel abatement and compliance measure for ground-level ozone.

نویسندگان

  • Timm Kroeger
  • Francisco J Escobedo
  • José L Hernandez
  • Sebastián Varela
  • Sonia Delphin
  • Jonathan R B Fisher
  • Janice Waldron
چکیده

High ambient ozone (O3) concentrations are a widespread and persistent problem globally. Although studies have documented the role of forests in removing O3 and one of its precursors, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), the cost effectiveness of using peri-urban reforestation for O3 abatement purposes has not been examined. We develop a methodology that uses available air quality and meteorological data and simplified forest structure growth-mortality and dry deposition models to assess the performance of reforestation for O3 precursor abatement. We apply this methodology to identify the cost-effective design for a hypothetical 405-ha, peri-urban reforestation project in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria O3 nonattainment area in Texas. The project would remove an estimated 310 tons of (t) O3 and 58 t NO2 total over 30 y. Given its location in a nitrogen oxide (NOx)-limited area, and using the range of Houston area O3 production efficiencies to convert forest O3 removal to its NOx equivalent, this is equivalent to 127-209 t of the regulated NOx. The cost of reforestation per ton of NOx abated compares favorably to that of additional conventional controls if no land costs are incurred, especially if carbon offsets are generated. Purchasing agricultural lands for reforestation removes this cost advantage, but this problem could be overcome through cost-share opportunities that exist due to the public and conservation benefits of reforestation. Our findings suggest that peri-urban reforestation should be considered in O3 control efforts in Houston, other US nonattainment areas, and areas with O3 pollution problems in other countries, wherever O3 formation is predominantly NOx limited.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Reflections on Abatement Modelling

In environmental economics it is common to add non-negative constraints on abatement, or equivalently to constrain emissions by some maximum unabated level. However, in this paper it is argued that these assumptions are both physically wrong and complicating. Also, more seriously, such constraints can rule out optimal solutions. For instance, negative NOx abatement can be optimal from the socia...

متن کامل

Short-term prediction of atmospheric concentrations of ground-level ozone in Karaj using artificial neural network

Air pollution is a challenging issue in some of the large cities in developing countries. Air quality monitoring and interpretation of data are two important factors for air quality management in urban areas. Several methods exist to analyze air quality. Among them, we applied the dynamic neural network (TDNN) and Radial Basis Function (RBF) methods to predict the concentrations of ground-level...

متن کامل

Short-term prediction of atmospheric concentrations of ground-level ozone in Karaj using artificial neural network

Air pollution is a challenging issue in some of the large cities in developing countries. Air quality monitoring and interpretation of data are two important factors for air quality management in urban areas. Several methods exist to analyze air quality. Among them, we applied the dynamic neural network (TDNN) and Radial Basis Function (RBF) methods to predict the concentrations of ground-level...

متن کامل

تخمین غلظت ازن در سطح زمین با استفاده از روش رگرسیون خطی چند متغیره و تعیین پارامترهای موثر

Background and Objective: Ground level ozone (O3) is one of most dangerous pollutants for human health in urban areas. The aim of this study was to identify the factors affecting the formation of ozone and modeling the spatial and temporal variations of ozone concentration in Tehran metropolitan area. Materials and Methods: The data used in this research included meteorological data and pollut...

متن کامل

An estimation of COPD cases and respiratory mortality related to Ground-Level Ozone in the metropolitan Ahvaz during 2011

Background & Aims of the Study :  Ground-Level Ozone (GLO) is the component of one of greatest concern that threatened human health in both developing as well as developed countries. The GLO mainly enters the body through the respiration and can cause decrements in pulmonary complications, eye burning, shortness of breath, coughing, failure of immune defense, decreases forced vital cap...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

دوره 111 40  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2014