Quantifying the potential of façade climbing plants in reducing air pollution: a novel investigation into the absorption capabilities of three climbers for CO2, NO2, and O3 in urban environments

Abstract Air pollution and climate change will require the advancement of suitable green technologies and mitigation measures in the future, especially in cities. However, the possibilities for this are limited, partly due to the heavily built-up and thus restricted urban open space and sealed surfaces. Incorporating vertical surfaces, abundant in cities, as a valuable space for climbing plants is an ideal opportunity and means of improving air quality. Unfortunately, there are hardly any reliable quantitative facts on the improvement of air quality brought about by these climbing plants. In this study, we analysed and compared typical climbing plants with regard to their absorption potential of gaseous air pollutants. This revealed pronounced differences between Hedera helix , (ivy) Lonicera henryi (honeysuckle) and Clematis montana (anemone clematis) regarding their absorption/filtering capacity of CO 2 , NO 2 and O 3 , the last two of which are hazardous to health.