Understanding PM2.5 concentration and removal efficiency variation in urban forest park — Observation at human breathing height

Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.27846v1
Subject Areas
Atmospheric Chemistry, Environmental Impacts, Forestry
Keywords
Forest, PM2.5, Near the surface, Meteorological factors, Removal efficiency
Copyright
© 2019 Yan et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Yan G, Yu Z, Wu Y, Liu J, Wang Y, Zhai J, Cong L, Zhang Z. 2019. Understanding PM2.5 concentration and removal efficiency variation in urban forest park — Observation at human breathing height. PeerJ Preprints 7:e27846v1

Abstract

To increase our knowledge of PM2.5 concentrations near the surface in a forest park in Beijing, an observational study measured the concentration and composition of PM2.5 in Beijing Olympic Forest Park from 2015 to 2016. This study analyzed the meteorological factors and removal efficiency at 1.5 m above the ground (human breathing height) over the course of the day in the forest. The results showed that the average concentrations of PM2.5 near the surface peaked at 07:00–09:30 and reached their lowest at 12:00–15:00. In addition, the results showed that the annual concentration of PM2.5 in the forest was highest during winter, followed by spring and fall, and was lowest during summer. The main chemical components of PM2.5 near the surface in the forest were SO42− and NO3, which accounted for 68.72% of all water-soluble ions that we observed. The concentration of PM2.5 in the forest had a significant positive correlation with relative humidity and a significant negative correlation with temperature. The removal efficiency near the surface showed no significant variation through the day or year. In the forest, the highest removal efficiency occurred between 07:00 and 09:30 in summer, while the lowest occurred between 09:30 and 12:00 in winter.

Author Comment

This is a submission to PeerJ for review.

Supplemental Information

Raw data of PM2.5 concentration, composition,meteorology, and removal efficiency

DOI: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.27846v1/supp-1