Plants More Crucial to Reducing Air Pollution Than Previously Believed

Plants play an even more critical role in keeping the atmosphere clean than previously believed, according to a new study. Using observation, gene expression studies, and computer models, researchers found that deciduous plants absorb a common class of pollutants known as oxygenated volatile organic compounds (oVOCS) as much as four times more quickly than expected. Those chemical pollutants, which can have significant health and environmental impacts, are released into the atmosphere by various natural and human-caused sources, including power plants and vehicles. The rate of intake was especially rapid in dense forests and most evident at the tops of forest canopies, where about 97 percent of the absorption was recorded. And trees under stress, either because of physical wounds or exposure to chemical irritants, tended to absorb oVOCS at an increased rate, according to researchers. The study, which was led by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., will be published in the journal Science Express.