Beneficial influences of different evergreen species on the air quality: pollution mitigation and carbon uptake.

Beneficial influences of different evergreen species on the air quality: pollution mitigation and carbon uptake. Air pollutants and their effects on human health In 2012, 51% of the worldwide population was living in cities and this percentage is expected to increase up to 60% by 2030 (Population Reference Bureau, 2012). Urban ecosystem is strongly unbalanced in terms of energy and matter consumption, and production of pollutant emissions and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). CO 2 , although not considered a pollutant, is the main greenhouse gas, responsible of the greenhouse effect with the consequent increase of air temperature (Kiran and Kinnary, 2011). Air pollution continues to pose a significant threat to health worldwide. The negative effects on human health are mainly related to the respiratory and circulatory systems (WHO, 2006; COMEAP, 2010; EPA, 2011) and they were estimated to cause more than 3.7 million deaths per year (WHO, 2012). Traffic, building heating and industrial activities are the main sources of air pollution, releasing in the atmosphere high quantities of particulate matter (PM), (Suzuki, 2006; Oliva and Espinosa, 2007; Sawidis et al., 2011). Particulate matter is a mixture of solid and liquid substances, heavy metals, black carbon, polycyclic a

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