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Vehicular emissions comprise a main source of air pollutants, especially particulate matter (PM), which contains toxic compounds. Brazil has been restricting vehicular emissions for more than 30 years to minimize the impacts of fleet vehicles, but despite the restrictive legislation, several Brazilian cities still suffer from the effects of atmospheric pollution. The adoption of nature-based solutions (NbS) is being hailed as a sound alternative for improving urban air quality. In this sense, trees are a true reflection of the NbS concept since they can directly decrease PM levels by intercepting and resuspending particles, as well as altering pollution dispersion patterns. We wanted to understand the practical outcome of urban forest fragments as an NbS. Therefore, using litterfall in urban forest fragments, this study reported the role of green areas in reducing air pollution concentrations in 4 urban parks in Sao Paulo Megacity, Brazil. Air contaminants (Cd, Cu and Pb) varied from the edge to the core of urban forests. Multivariate analysis revealed that areas with different vehicle fleets influenced the input of air pollutants into these forest fragments. Our study further showed that trees serve as a natural barrier against PM. It can be concluded that this low-cost NbS alternative can reduce air pollution and has a potential to improve human health and well-being, and should be incorporated into municipal policies and programs, especially in critical locations of high human density. and poorly managed green areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inventory of the urban arborization of Positivo University parking lots in Ecoville Campus was conducted through census criteria, concerning the surroundings conflicts related to tree health, origin and phenology, that were scored and weighted. There were 393 individuals, 12 species and five families where 60% were native to Brazil. The main canopy criteria was the reaching branches on the access road in a proportion of 40%; in the trunk analysis, it was observed lesion (45%) and rot (40%); at the base's analysis it was verified injury (43%) and root damage (35%) and exposed root (25%). The presence of fruit (26%) was higher than the flowering. Handroanthus albus presented the best result for the criteria, unlike Anadenanthera macrocarpa and Tipuana tipu. The trees showed a landscaping potential, however, the space available for the large size ones was not adequate and the large size species intensified the conflicts, when there was no planning. The species characteristics should be observed, in relation to the three-dimensional space availability. Thus, future conflicts that can be avoided endanger tree health, urban infrastructure and residents which can lead to economic losses. For this reason, the elaboration of the Municipal Urban Arborization Plan is considered primordial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Urban afforestation can mitigate the effects of air pollution, but the suitability of plant species for this purpose needs to be determined according to pollution intensity and climate change. The goal of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of different phytotoxicity endpoints using two native Brazilian plant species as models, Aroeira (Schinus terebinthifolius) and Cuvatã (Cupania vernalis). The sensitivity parameters evaluated could help in selecting the most air-pollution-tolerant plant species for use in urban afforestation programs. The two plant species were exposed, in a greenhouse, to the combustion gases of a diesel engine for 120 days, with daily intermittent gas exposure. Every 30 days, leaf injury (chlorosis and necrosis), biomass, and physiological/biochemical parameters (proteins, chlorophyll, and peroxidase enzyme activity) were evaluated for both plant species. For the two selected species, the endpoints studied can be ranked according to their sensitivity (or inversely the tolerance) to diesel oil combustion gases in the following order: peroxidase > biomass ≈ chlorophyll > protein > leaf injury. The endpoint responses of higher plants can be used to assess the suitability of particular plant species for use in urban afforestation areas with relatively intense vehicle traffic., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)