The Impact of Roadside Trees on Air Quality in Hot Desert Climates: A Case Study of Dubai

The global warming period, which continues all over the world, has also taken all climates under its influence. In order to be a solution to this problem, every country around the world produces solutions both within itself and with international unions. Plants are among the most important sources of these solutions. The relationship between air quality and plants is quite different. While polluted air quality affects all living things, even plants, plants help to reduce and improve this damage. In order to minimise and improve harmful emissions in the air, plants are the most important design tool of many professional disciplines, especially landscape architects. This study was carried out in Dubai, the most popular and developing city of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is a model for the world with its environmental policies and a different herd approach. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the effect of highway planting on air quality. For this purpose, road routes with different characteristics on an important road route of Dubai were selected and analysed for air quality. Four road routes were selected based on the presence or absence of vegetation. In line with these choices, PM10, PM2.5, TVOC, HVOC, CO and CO2 measurements were made, which are among the harmful emissions affecting air quality. As a result of the study, these measurement results obtained from road routes of different character were compared and evaluated according to "air quality indices" and suggestions were made for future studies.