Green Walls in Urban Environment
Due to heavy motor traffic and its valley location, Stuttgart faces serious issues with air pollution. The allowable limit of 50μg/cbm for particulate matter (PM10) is exceeded on 91 days per year, more often than in any other German city. The city takes various measures to address this challenge. One is the construction of a moss wall. As moss does not take nutrients through its roots, it transforms nitrogenous air particles into bio-mass. This effect is well understood on the laboratory level, but its impact on air quality at an urban scale has not been evaluated yet. The city of Stuttgart has commissioned the ITKE to design and construct a major pilot installation along the heavily loaded Neckarstrasse. Partners are the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (SMNS) for the botanical aspects and the Institute of Combustion and Power Plant Technology (IFK), University of Stuttgart for long term monitoring of air quality.
The photo by Martin Nebel (SMNS) shows small dust particles of ca. 2 micrometers on the surface of a moss leave, already partially degraded.
