Just One CityTree Has the Environmental Benefits of a Forest

According to the World Health Organization, “Every year 4.3 million deaths occur from exposure to indoor air pollution and 3.7 million deaths are attributable to outdoor air pollution.” To make matters worse, “More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits.” As we continue increasing the number of people living in these urban areas, we need to begin considering solutions to our air pollution problem.

One of those solutions could be a single “tree” – the CityTree to be exact! It’s not actually a tree; rather freestanding moss culture developed by Berlin-based Green City Solutions. And according to them, just one CityTree could potentially provide the same environmental benefits as that of 275 actual trees. Which is probably why they’ve been popping up around cities throughout the entire world, from Paris to Hong Kong.

At just under 4 meters tall, nearly 3 meters wide, and 2.19 meters deep, the moss is able to use its larger leaf surface area to capture more pollutants than any other plant, such as dust, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone gases. With each CityTree, 250 grams of particulate matter can be absorbed per day and removes 240 metric tons of CO2 a year.

In terms of the technology behind the invention, solar panels are installed to provide electricity, the soil is maintained using rainwater that is collected in a reservoir, and it contains sensors to help measure soil humidity, temperature, and water quality. And to top it all off, all of the data about the status and environmental performance of the CityTree is then collected, analyzed, and visualized via the Internet of Things.

If you want to learn more about the invention, click here.

Photo Credit: Green City Solutions