Analysis of the Distribution of Fine Particulate Matter (PM-2.5) Pollution according to Types of Urban Forest Park

There have been several research results on the effects of urban forests on the reduction of atmospheric air pollutants including fine particulate matter due to their adsorption or filtering mechanism as well as excluding air pollution sources in those area. This study was intended to figure out these effects specifically in Seoul, a large urbanized metropolitan area. This study investigated the distribution characteristics of PM-2.5 according to the greenery ratio of urban areas and the topographic features of urban forests. Three urban fields including two mountainous and one flat were selected for the characterization. The obtained field concentrations were compared with data from the national stations and modelling (AERMOD). The results showed that residential areas with relatively high greenery ratio had around 18% lower PM-2.5 concentration. The PM-2.5 concentration measured in mountainous urban forests was significantly lower than those of the national air pollution monitoring stations and similar to that of AERMOD modeling prediction. In flat urban forest, there was no significant difference when compared with mountainous urban forests, but it was 1~2 μg/m³ lower than that of the national air pollution monitoring stations. These results demonstrate that both mountainous and flat urban forests can influence local PM-2.5 concentration regardless of topographical features. Therefore, the composition of green spaces in urban areas could be utilized to reduce PM-2.5 pollution in urban environment.