Abstract

VAZQUEZ ARCEO, Sunashi Elizabeth; RAMIREZ RIVERA, María del Pilar; ARCEO DIAZ, Santiago  and  SOLIS ENRIQUEZ, J. Jesús. Air pollution removal by the urban forest in Las Palmas, Colima, Mexico. Madera bosques [online]. 2023, vol.29, n.1, e2912460.  Epub Nov 24, 2023. ISSN 2448-7597.  https://doi.org/10.21829/myb.2023.2912460.

The objective of this study was to identify relevant species and specimens for improving air quality in the Las Palmas neighborhood, Colima, Colima, Mexico. In order to obtain the results of the amount of air pollution eliminated and emitted by species, it was necessary to inventory the specimens of trees and other woody plants located in public spaces of the residential area with a diameter at breast height equal to or greater than 2.54 cm, to later process their dasometric data with the i-Tree Eco v.6.0 software. Of the 1087 inventoried specimens, a subsample of species was extracted based on two determining factors: those species that had 25 or more individuals and, in the case of species with less than 25 specimens, those that, according to the i-Tree Eco, showed the highest absorption of pollutants or the highest emission of volatile organic compounds. It was found that the urban forest removed 214.34 kg of air pollutants and generated 123.80 kg of bioemissions of volatile organic compounds. We highlight the contributions of the following native species: parota (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), fig (Ficus spp.), guamuchil (Pithecellobium dulce), rosamorada (Tabebuia rosea) and mandimbo (Ehretia tinifolia); and introduced species: ficus (Ficus benjamina), mango (Mangifera indica) and tabachin (Delonix regia).

Keywords : air quality; volatile organic compounds; urban forestry; native species.