BVOC emissions from trees in urban residential neighborhoods: Spatial patterns and drivers

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) have significant impacts on ecosystem and human health, especially in urban neighbourhoods where people reside and engage in recreational activities. However, few studies have examined the emission patterns of BVOCs from residential plants, and their driving factors. This study quantifies BVOCs emissions based on a tree survey for 65 residential areas in Beijing, and further investigates the association between BVOCs emissions and neighbourhood socioeconomic characteristics. We found that the average emission intensity in these neighbourhoods was 11.51 t/km² (0.81–96.11 t/km²), similar to forested areas. The majority of the trees (92.39 %), accounted for 80.33 % of the tree species emit BVOCs in the sampled neighbourhoods. The emission fluxes of BVOCs differed greatly among neighbourhoods, affected by their social-economic characteristics. For example, more recently developed neighbourhoods exhibited higher emission fluxes of BVOCs, and average BVOCs first increased with housing prices and distance to the city centre and then decreased. The higher BVOCs emissions in neighbourhoods is likely affected by the increased selection of ornamental plants with high BVOCs emission rates. The results suggest the importance of considering the functional characteristics of plants, such as BVOCs emission rates, for promoting environmentally friendly and healthy urban neighbourhoods, when selecting tree species for landscaping in urban neighbourhoods.