Environmental Assessment of Dust-Holding and Oxygen-Producing Productivity of Hawthorns in Kazakhstan

Abstract

The research aimed to study the oxygen productionand the dynamics of the leaf blade dust-collecting ability of hawthorns growingin contrasting ecological and climatic areas. Hawthorns in urban green spacesare a fairly common tree species and play an important hygienic role inpurifying the atmospheric air from dust and harmful impurities and havesufficient oxygen productivity. Hawthorn trunks ensure 70% of all oxygenproductivity and gas absorption. Meteorological conditions of the ecologicalregions under study have a huge impact on the amount of dust adsorbed on thetree surface. The dust-holding capacity of hawthorns, which, according toresearch, have rough lamina, increases towards the end of the growing season.The maximum dust deposition is observed in July, with the least amount ofprecipitation. Hawthorns that grow along highways experience the greatestenvironmental pressure. The difference is on average 1.8-1.9 times incomparison with the reference area. The maximum dust accumulation was foundwithin the near-highway plantations characterized by an average density andvertical structure, as well as ventilation capacity. Two regions selected forresearch represent the technogenic environment of a large city. Therefore, toimprove the quality of life and contribute to the improvement of theenvironmental situation, it is necessary to plant sustainable trees and shrubswithin the city boundaries, which serve as a protective barrier to thedeteriorating environmental situation.