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Vegetation-related dry deposition of global PM2.5 from satellite observations

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Abstract

Vegetation plays an important role in the dry deposition of particles with significant spatial variability, but the magnitude remains unclear at the global scale. With the aid of satellite products, this study estimated the vegetation-related dry deposition of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Methodologically, dry deposition was first calculated using an empirical algorithm. Then, deposition on the leaf surface was estimated to evaluate the influence of vegetation. Our results showed that the mean deposition velocity (Vd) of global PM2.5 was 0.91×10−3 µg·m−2·s−1, with high velocities observed in sparsely vegetated regions because of the high friction velocity. Under the combined effect of the PM2.5 mass concentration and deposition velocity, the global mean dry deposition reached 0.47 g·m−2·yr−1. Global vegetation absorbed 0.26 g·m−2·yr−1 from PM2.5 pollution sources, contributing 54.98% of the total dry deposition. Spatially, vegetation-related dry deposition was high in the Amazon, Central Africa and East China due to dense vegetation coverage or serious pollution. Temporally, the increasing trends were mainly in Central Africa and India because of worsening air pollution. The results of this study helped to clarify the impact of vegetation on air pollution, which supported related land management and planning for air quality improvement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Huihui Feng, Ying Ding, Bin Zou, Shuchao Ye & Zhuolin Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Metallogenic Prediction of Nonferrous Metals and Geological Environment Monitoring of Chinese Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410083, China

    Huihui Feng & Bin Zou

  3. School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Jason Blake Cohen

  4. School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, Jiangsu, China

    Kai Qin

  5. College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Lei Liu

  6. Guangzhou Center for Rule of Green Development Law Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, 510420, China

    Xiaodong Gu

  7. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China

    Xiaodong Gu

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  1. Huihui Feng
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  2. Ying Ding
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  3. Bin Zou
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  6. Zhuolin Yang
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Correspondence to Bin Zou.

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Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.42071378; Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, No.2020JJ3045; Foundation of Natural Science of Guangdong, No.2019BT02H594

Author: Feng Huihui (1986–), specialized in remote sensing of resources and environment.

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Feng, H., Ding, Y., Zou, B. et al. Vegetation-related dry deposition of global PM2.5 from satellite observations. J. Geogr. Sci. 32, 589–604 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-1962-0

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