The purpose of this two-year project is to screen and evaluate the fast-growing and high-pollutant-uptake trees for petrochemical industrial parks in Taiwan. The first-year study is focusing on industrial parks with naphtha-cracking factories. There are four major tasks in this first-year project: (1) To review all the literatures related with fast-growing and high-pollutant-uptake trees in petrochemical industrial parks; (2) To investigate and identify all tree species growing well in at least three petrochemical industrial parks; (3) To measure the pollutant uptake rates of major tree species belonging to fast-growing and high-pollutant-uptake group with instruments; (4) Comprehensive evaluation and grading all the fast-growing and high-pollutant-uptake trees species tested in this study for future application in petrochemical industrial parks in Taiwan. The measurements of pollutant (including SO2, C2H4, and NOx) uptake rates by tree species were conducted in bag branch enclosure chamber. The tolerance of these tree species to salt spray were also tested for evaluating their performance in inland or coastal areas. The second-year project will continue with the first-year one with an additional mission to publish a handbook entitled “The fast-growing and high-pollutant-uptake trees for petrochemical industrial parks in Taiwan.” After a series of field investigation around three petrochemical industrial parks in Taiwan, a total of 23 tree species were preliminarily selected and listed for detail measurements of pollutant uptake rates and salt spray tolerance. We have compared the SO2 uptake rates of them and found that among them Norfolk island pine, iron-wood, and Taiwan zelkova can do the better job. For C2H4 uptake measurement, Taiwan zelkova, Chinese pistache, Bishopwood (red cedar) and Madagascar almond showed the higher uptake rates. To NOx, the higher uptake rates were found on juniper Tamarisk, Taiwan zelkova, Chinese pistache, iron-wood, lemon eucaly, and china berry. Results also showed that Honduras mahogany, golden-leaf fig, Formosan nato tree, Norfolk island pine, date palm, juniper Tamarisk, Ceylon ardisia, silvery Messerschmidia, poonga-oil tree, and India laurel fig were salt tolerant species. The present study results will be applied in tree recommendation for petrochemical industrial parks in Taiwan to abate the air pollution. They will also be useful for Taiwan EPA and other organizations to select the right tree species for growing in polluted areas and neighborhood parks in Taiwan.

petrochemical industrial park; fast-growing tree; pollutant uptake