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Background and objective Particulate matter (PM) has a serious impact on health. Recently, studies are conducted to reduce PM in an environmentally friendly way using plants. This study investigated the physiological responses of plants and their ability to remove PM by continuously spraying different PM sources (loam, fly ash, carbon black) to four native plant species, such as Iris sanguinea, Pteris multifida, Vitis coignetiae, and Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki. Methods The four plant species were randomly placed in four chambers, and 0.1 g of different PM was injected into each chamber twice a week. We measured chlorophyll, carotenoid, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm), total leaf area, amount of leaf wax, PM10 (sPM10) and PM2.5 (sPM2.5) on the leaf surface, and PM10 (wPM10) and PM2.5 (wPM2.5) on the wax layer. Results For I. sanguinea and V. coignetiae, the sources of PM did not affect the growth response. P. multifida showed high chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid content in carbon black as well as high Fv/Fm and total leaf area, thereby proving that carbon black helped plant growth. By PM sources, sPM10 showed a significant difference in three plant species, sPM2.5 in two plant species, and wPM10 in one plant species, indicating that sPM10 was most affected by PM sources. Conclusion Carbon black increased the leaf area by affecting the growth of P. multifida. This plant can be effectively used for PM reduction by increasing the adsorption area. I. sanguinea and V. coignetiae can be used as economical landscaping plants since they can grow regardless of PM sources.

Background and objective Particulate matter (PM) has a fatal effect on health. There have been many studies on the use of plants such as trees and shrubs as eco-friendly and sustainable biofilter for the removal of PM. In forming more green space, ground cover plants play an important role in multi-layered planting. This study was conducted to investigate the ability of plants to reduce PM, targeting Korean native ground cover plants with high availability in urban green spaces. Methods For 4 species of Asteraceae, 4 species of Liliaceae, and 3 species of Rosaceae, one species of plants at a time were placed in an acrylic chamber (800 × 800 × 1000 mm, L × W × H) modeling an indoor space. After the injection of PM, the amount of PM remaining in the chamber over time was investigated. Results For all three types of PM (PM10, PM2.5, PM1), significant difference occurred in the amount of PM remaining between plant species after 1 hour in the Liliaceae chamber, 3 hours in the Asteraceae chamber, and 5 hours in the Rosaceae chamber. With Liliaceae, the leaf area and the amount of PM remaining in the chamber showed a negative (−) correlation. With the Asteraceae and Rosaceae, there was a weak negative correlation between the leaf area and the amount of PM remaining in the chamber. Conclusion When using ground cover plants as a biofilter to remove PM, it is considered effective to select a species with a large total leaf area, especially for Liliaceae.

High concentration of particulate matter (PM) threatens public health and the environment. Increasing traffic in the city is one of the main factors for increased PM in the air. Urban green spaces play an important role in reducing PM. In this study, the leaf surface and in-wax PM (sPM and wPM) accumulation were compared for 11 plant species widely used for landscaping in South Korea. In addition, biochemical characteristics of leaves (ascorbic acid chlorophyll content, leaf pH, and relative water content) were analyzed to determine air pollution tolerance. Plant species suitable for air quality improvement were selected based on their air pollution tolerance index (APTI) and anticipated performance index (API). Results showed a significant difference according to the accumulation of sPM and wPM and the plant species. PM accumulation and APTI showed a positive correlation. Pinus strobus showed the highest PM accumulation and APTI values, while Cercis chinensis showed the lowest. In 11 plants, API was divided into five groups. Pinus densiflora was classified as the best group, while Cornus officinalis and Ligustrum obtusifolium were classified as not recommended.