Group 3: 1715009, 1715016, 1715022

Use of Vegetation to combat Noise Pollution

According to Detailed Area Plan, the standard noise level of an area should be that imposed by
Bangladesh Noise Pollution Regulation, 2006. Which is-
Standard Noise Level (in Decibel)
Type Day Night
*
Quiet 50 40
Residential 55 45
Mixed 60 50
Commercial 70 60
Industrial 75 70
*
A quiet area is a school, college or hospital and its surrounding area up to 100 meters.
Noise Barrier
• Noise barriers can lower a noise level by almost
5 decibels
• The trees have to form a belt of approximately
20-30 meters for it to work as effective noise
barrier
• There should be some additional setback from
the forest belt to the structure so that the air
circulation will not be hindered. Figure: Sound level decreases with due to tree buffer
• The noise barrier has to be created with trees,
herbs and shrubs. A thick row of tall
evergreen trees, then a row of smaller
evergreen shrubs and plants is the
recommended landscape for combating traffic
noise. Plants, such as hollies and junipers, that
have thick branches at ground level provide
excellent noise reduction.
Standard Characteristics
• Tall and dense trees over a distance of 30
meters can reduce noise up to 6 dB
• Dense belt of trees and shrubs between 15-30-meter- Figure: Sound level decreases with distance due to
tree buffer
wide could reduce sound level by 6-8 dB
• Wide planting (around 30 meter) of tall dense trees combined with soft ground surfaces can reduce
apparent loudness by 50%
Foliage and leaf characteristics:
• Longevity of Foliage: Ever green (large-leafed deciduous during spring and summer)
• Leaf- Broadleaved, wide and dense leaves, less porous
• Height- 10-12 meters
• Canopy Width
o Broadleaved – 25 feet
 o Conifer -50-100 feet

Bamboo Tree Mango Tree Morning Glory Shrub

The reduction of sound by vegetation is usually attributed to the processes of reflection, deflection
and absorption.
Foliage appears to be the most efficient part of a tree for scattering sound and it seems that large
leaves are more effective than small leaves.
Noise reduction tends to increase with tree height up to 10 -12m after which it tends to decrease. This
is probably a result of lower branches dying and allowing sound to travel more easily.
There is a positive correlation between noise reduction and the width of the belt of trees; the wider
the belt the greater the reduction.

Standard for trees to reduce carbon emission:

The rate of carbon sequestration depends on the growth characteristics of the tree species, the
conditions for growth where the tree is planted, and the density of the tree's wood.
Studies show that natural African tropical forests absorb about 600 kg (1,323 lbs) of carbon per
hectare per year. If we take 600 kg by 25 times more wood per hectare in a plantation setting, we get
15,000 kg (33,000 lbs) per hectare per year divided by 600 plantation trees per hectare, which results
in 25 kg (55 lbs) of carbon sequestered per tree per year. One of the species CO2 Tropical Trees
plants is Acacia mangium, a recognized nitrogen fixing tree (NFT). Studies like “Greater Soil Carbon
Sequestration under Nitrogen-fixing Trees Compared with Eucalyptus Species” 3 published by
Ecosystems, a Springer publication, show that NFT’s sequester more carbon in the soil than do other
types of tropical trees.
Assuming a median of 95,000 kg divided by 1,250 trees per hectare one would get 76 kg (167 lbs)
per tree. In a managed plantation trees are often culled back to about 600 trees per hectare, which
would result in 158 kg (348 lbs) per tree per year. These numbers support the cubic meter increase of
woody biomass observed in growing locations with excellent conditions, which I will address later.
Please note that managed plantations generally produce 20 to 30 times more wood than do natural
forests, resulting in higher carbon sequestration rates per hectare.
Foliage and leaf characteristics:
• Leaf Trait: Small size, complex shape,
hairy or waxy surface
• Longevity of Foliage: Ever Green
• High density and less porous foliage
• Wide canopy width and tall in height
• Conifers, like pines and cypresses, are also good natural purifiers.
• Diversity in trees need to be insured

Survival factor and annual carbon sequestration rate for common urban
trees

The preceding method for estimating carbon sequestration was designed for trees planted at a
“standard” size, defined as a tree in 15-gallon container or balled and bur lapped conifer. At this size,
a tree is usually approximately one inch in diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground. For the purposes of
this method, age is measured from the time the tree is planted at the standard size. Therefore, standard-
sized trees are designated as age 0, even though it will generally take seedlings several years to reach
this size.
Nationally, a hypothetical planting of 100 million trees would save 22 billion kWh and 33 Mt of
avoided CO2 emissions annually after 10 years (Akbari and others 1990). In addition, the trees would
sequester nearly another 4 Mt of CO2 as woody biomass. Assuming that CO2 reductions accrue for
10 years and each tree cost $25 for planting and 2 years of follow-up care, the cost per tonne of CO2
saved is about $7. This calculation assumes that all trees survive.