Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
07/24/2012
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
The use of plants in the external walls of buildings in the same street, creating "green corridors" could function as a filter for pollution in large cities, decreasing by 30% the amount of air pollutants in large cities, according to a British study .
Previous research has predicted that the increase of green areas in cities could reduce by 5% the amount of pollutants, but the new study led by scientists from the universities of Birmingham and Lancaster shows that "green corridors" have a potentially more effective.
Published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, the results of the study show that such measures could be more efficient than traditional efforts.
"So far all efforts to try to reduce pollution have been made 'from above', how to get rid of old cars, and even adding a catalyst to introduce congestion charges - and they have not shown the desired effect. The benefit of 'green corridors' is that they clean the air that enters and stays in the space between the buildings, "says Rob MacKenzie, one of the authors of the study.
The 'corridors' are nothing more than boards covered with plants 'vines', which grow attached to a structure placed on the exterior walls of buildings in cities.
"Planting more ('green corridors') in a strategic way could be a relatively easy way to control our local pollution problems," adds the scientist.
Advantages and challenges - Experts suggest that the creation of such a "green corridor" also has practical advantages, beyond the expected environmental benefit.
Similar as the so called "green walls" which act as vertical gardens, usually composed of different kinds of plants and often created by landscape, irrigation systems require specific care as well as fertilizers and more intense.
As for the "runners" consist of an entire wall covered by a single type of vine, the more resistant. Yet there are challenges.
Tom Pugh, another study author lists some of the difficulties to be faced. "We must be careful about the plants: how and where these will plant vegetation types (as well as ensure that) are not affected by drought, are not affected by excessive heat and do not suffer from the actions of vandals," he says.
Anne Jaluzot, a community group about planting trees in urban areas, says the traditional strategy of planting many small trees, no help for biodiversity, and flood control and pollution.
She says it would be preferable to focus on smaller regions and very large trees planted in them, even though fewer in number. She also criticizes the "vertical gardens", more elaborate, as a "waste of money."
"These vertical gardens are often beautiful, but are unsustainable due to high maintenance costs and the need for fertilizers. Simply cover a wall with climbing plants would generally be a much better solution for municipalities and industry bodies, "he says. (Source: Portal iG)
Source: Environment Brazil
Our news are taken in full of our partner sites. For this reason, we can not change the content of these up in case of typing errors.
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.