Air pollution removal through deposition on urban vegetation: The importance of vegetation characteristics

Urban vegetation has the potential to improve air quality as it promotes pollutant deposition and retention. Urban air quality models often include the effect vegetation have on pollution dispersion, however, processes involved in pollution removal by vegetation are often excluded or simplified and does not consider different vegetation characteristics. In this systematic review, we analyze the influence of the large interspecies variation in vegetation characteristics to identify the key factors affecting the removal of the major urban pollutants, particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) from the air through vegetation deposition. The aim is to identify key processes needed to represent vegetation characteristics in urban air quality modelling assessments.We show that PM is mainly deposited to the leaf surface, and thus representation of characteristics affecting the aerodynamics from canopy down to leaf surface are important, such as branch/shoot complexity and leaf size, leaf surface roughness and hairiness. In addition, characteristics affecting PM retention capacity, resuspension and wash-off, include leaf surface roughness, hairiness and wax content. NO₂ is mainly deposited through stomatal uptake, and thus stomatal conductance and its responses to environmental conditions are key factors. These include response to solar radiation, vapour pressure deficit and soil moisture.Representation of these vegetation characteristics in urban air quality models could greatly improve our ability to optimize the type and species of urban vegetation from an air quality perspective.     

Differentiating anthropogenic modification and precipitation-driven change on vegetation productivity on the Mongolian Plateau

Context

The Mongolian Plateau, comprising Inner Mongolia, China (IM) and Mongolia (MG) is undergoing consistent warming and accelerated land cover/land use change. Extensive modifications of water-limited regions can alter ecosystem function and processes; hence, it is important to differentiate the impacts of human activities and precipitation dynamics on vegetation productivity.

Objectives

This study distinguished between human-induced and precipitation-driven changes in vegetation cover on the plateau across biome, vegetation type and administrative divisions.

Methods

Non-parametric trend tests were applied to the time series of vegetation indices (VI) derived from MODIS and AVHRR and precipitation from TRMM and MERRA reanalysis data. VI residuals adjusted for rainfall were obtained from the regression between growing season maximum VI and monthly accumulated rainfall (June–August) and were used to detect human-induced trends in vegetation productivity during 1981–2010. The total livestock and population density trends were identified and then used to explain the VI residual trends.

Results

The slope of precipitation-adjusted EVI and EVI2 residuals were negatively correlated to total livestock density (R² = 0.59 and 0.16, p < 0.05) in MG and positively correlated with total population density (R² = 0.31, p < 0.05) in IM. The slope of precipitation-adjusted EVI and EVI2 residuals were also negatively correlated with goat density (R² = 0.59 and 0.19, p < 0.05) and sheep density in MG (R² = 0.59 and 0.13, p < 0.05) but not in IM.

Conclusions

Some administrative subdivisions in IM and MG showed decreasing trends in VI residuals. These trends could be attributed to increasing livestock or population density and changes in livestock herd composition. Other subdivisions showed increasing trends residuals, suggesting that the vegetation cover increase could be attributed to conservation efforts.

     

The impact of vegetation and media on evapotranspiration in bioretention systems

Bioretention systems have known benefits for managing urban stormwater, but there remain knowledge gaps about evapotranspiration (ET) and its role in these systems. This paper investigated how design parameters including growing media and vegetation, as well as climatic variables, can influence ET in bioretention systems. To this end, twenty-four bioretention mesocosms constructed using three media types (i.e., two sandy media types and clay loam mixed with wood chips) and planted with three vegetation types (i.e., herbaceous mixture, woody mixture, and turfgrass as control) in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada were monitored during the growing seasons (from May to October) between 2018 and 2020. The media moisture in the mesocosms was monitored at the depths of 20 and 40 cm to study how the design parameters and their interactions could influence ET. The results confirmed the roles of design and climatic variables on ET, while their effects were more prominent at the surface layer. The sandy media with the low organic matter (SD1) and the woody vegetation appeared to outperform the other media and vegetation types in promoting ET. The findings demonstrated the non-stationary nature of the ET function in the mesocosms. The effects of the design variables, in particular the vegetation, became more prominent over time. In addition, the impact of media-vegetation interactions on ET was identified. The results suggest the need for optimizing bioretention systems with consideration to the design variables, whose roles on ET are time- and depth-variant, to promote ET and, in turn, bioretention performance.     

城市植被土壤种子库与地上植被耦合研究

对吕梁市离石区的3个功能区吕梁学院、凤山、生态公园城市植被种子库与地上植被的耦合展开了研究。3个功能区地上植被和种子库中共有植物物种分别为26、8、8种,各功能区相似性指数分别为0.388、0.471、0.470,地上植被和土壤种子库表现出不同的耦合特征。     

The distribution of plant species in urban vegetation fragments

(1) The presence and absence of 22 plant species of various growth forms and habitat associations were analysed in 423 habitat fragments totalling 10.4 km² in a 268 km² urban and suburban region, in Birmingham, UK. (2) Multivariate logistic regressions were used to assess the effects of patch geometry and quality on the species distributions. Measures of geometry were area, shape (S-factor), distance from open countryside and various measures of isolation from other patches. Potential habitat for each species was determined quantitatively, and the distribution of each species was considered within a subset of patches containing potentially suitable habitat types. There was found to be a significant positive correlation between the density of patches available to a species and the proportion of these patches which were occupied. (3) Logistic analyses and incidence functions revealed that, for many of the species, occupancy increased with site age, area, habitat number and similarity of adjacent habitats, while increasing distance to the nearest recorded population of the same species decreased the likelihood that a species would be found in a patch. (4) Patterns of occupancy are consistent with increased extinction from small sites, and colonisation of nearby habitats, coupled with an important role for site history. We conclude that spatial dynamics at the scale of the landscape are of importance to the long-term persistence of many plant species in fragmented landscapes, and must be seriously considered in conservation planning and management. These results have direct implications for the siting and connectivity of urban habitat reserves.     

Effects of recreational use on restored urban floodplain vegetation in urban areas

Urban river restorations focus on restoring aquatic and riparian habitats, increasing flood protection, and enhancing recreational potential. The increased recreational value such newly created urban green spaces is a key benefit of these measures as urban riparian areas are highly valued for recreation. However, high recreational pressure may contribute to the loss of natural vegetation and of biodiversity in restored riparian sites. This study investigates the impact of different recreational intensities and use types on the vegetation structure and vegetation quality by documenting direct (foot-traffic, breaking of branches, stems and roots) and indirect damages (litter and excrements). The major results are fourfold. First, while the proportion of some vegetation types can be correlated to the recreational intensity, neither recreation intensity nor recreation types enhanced the colonization success of invasive species. However, monitoring data showed that human-induced disturbances such as hydro-morphological changes favor alien plant establishment. Second, the study suggests a tipping point for pioneer vegetation at around a density of one user per 10 m river stretch. Already at lower user densities, pressure from trampling can slow down vegetation development. Third, the results indicate that users prefer urban greening and gravel bar elements rather than natural vegetation. Finally, while intensity of direct damages on the vegetation are weakly correlated with the user density, indirect damages increase with the user density. This study concluded that the identification of user hotspots would be helpful in developing a resilient restoration design, which in addition to information about the sensitive vegetation types in relation to recreational users and nature friendly recreational behavior could decrease vegetation damages. In particular, younger recreational users should be targeted by environmental protection campaigns.     

The impact of pruning and mortality on urban tree canopy volume

Urban trees provide a wide range of ecosystem services for city residents, with tall, mature trees with wide crowns generally regarded as preferable. The tree biomass which is responsible for shading, pollution removal, rain runoff retention etc. gets periodically reduced by the municipal tree management practice of pruning. This is a necessary activity, which reduces the risk of infrastructure damage and falling branches, but many estimates of ecosystem service provision in cities do not consider its impact explicitly. Tree mortality is also higher in cities, preventing trees from attaining and remaining at large sizes. This study used extensive field measurements of tree structure to estimate the impact of pruning on 8 tree species in two Italian cities: Taranto and Florence. Crown widths were reduced by 1.6 m on average, however there is large variation between species variation with branches more often being removed for thinning crowns resulting in larger gap fractions, which increased by 15% on average. No significant differences were observed for crown widths or gap fraction between trees pruned 3 and 4 years previously, suggesting that tree crowns structurally recover from pruning after 3 years. A deterministic model revealed that current urban forest pruning rates (every 6 years) and mortality (1%) may create a situation in which a city dominated by the species studied benefits from 93.5% of the maximum ecosystem services possible. This work will allow more nuanced estimates of urban forest services to be calculated.     

The effect of spontaneous wild vegetation on landscape preferences in urban green spaces

The use of spontaneous wild vegetation (SWV) in the plans for urban greening in many cities is beginning to be discussed. However, little is known about how it is perceived and valued by citizens. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of SWV on landscape preferences. An online questionnaire was designed and given to a sample of 708 people in Latin America. The results show that they prefer more formal green spaces to those dominated by SWV. Once informed of the benefits that SWV brings to the city, preferences change, with wild vegetation spaces being more appreciated than formal ones. However, this pattern of preferences changes after 30 days. Preferences return to their initial point, with formal green spaces being appreciated again over wild spaces. The analyses show the importance of environmental education in urban greening strategies to communicate clearly, repeatedly and participatively the benefits of using SWV in public green spaces.     

Habitat effect on vegetation ecology and occurrence on urban masonry walls

Cities contain a diverse range of habitats that support plant establishment and persistence. This study focuses on a particular vertical artificial habitat: masonry retaining walls in Hong Kong. We explored the diversity and co-existence of different plant growth forms, synoptic assessment of habitat conditions, and relationship between habitat factors and vegetation occurrence. Some 270 walls with notable plant colonization in old districts were studied. We surveyed intrinsic wall fabric, extrinsic site condition, tree species and abundance, and other types of plant cover. The data were evaluated with the help of principal component and multiple regression analyses. A wide assemblage of species and growth forms have established spontaneously on walls. The tree flora is dominated by Moraceae (Mulberry family) members, genus Ficus (figs or banyans), and particularly Ficus microcarpa. Trees with strangler characteristics pre-adapted to grow on the vertical habitat are strongly favoured, followed by ruderals and garden escapees. Natives outnumber exotics by a large margin. Multiple wall attributes could be condensed into four factors, classified as water-nutrient supply, habitat connectivity, structure-maintenance, and habitat size. The action of habitat factors on vegetation occurrence hinges on plant growth form and dimension. The occurrence of diminutive lichen-moss is related to the fundamental sustenance water-nutrient factor. The bigger mature trees are more dependent on the larger-scale habitat size factor. The medium-sized plants, including herbs, shrubs and tree seedlings, are contingent upon the dual influence of water-nutrient and habitat connectivity. Spatial contiguity with natural ecosystem can secure continual supplies of seeds, water, nutrient, genial microclimate, and clean air to foster wall vegetation growth. The conservation of walls and their companion flora could avoid degrading or reducing these critical enabling factors. The urban ecological heritage deserves to be protected from unnecessary, misinformed and harmful impacts.     

The impact of significant earthquakes on Christchurch,New Zealand's urban forest

The resilience of Christchurch, New Zealand's urban forest has been tested during a year of major earthquakes and aftershocks. Tree loss has resulted from mass soil movement, soil liquefaction, rockfalls, and land slips. At the time of writing, only 384 trees have been documented as removed, however, thousands more are scheduled for removal. Additionally, the changes to the soil environment resulting from liquefaction will require existing trees to adapt quickly to their new soil environment. Their fate will not be known for years. Though the total number of trees removed is unlikely to reduce city-wide canopy cover appreciably, it is important to recognize that spatial patterns of tree loss were highly localized and thus local canopy cover has been drastically reduced in some areas. Short-term management of the urban forest in the aftermath of the earthquake focused on removal of trees deemed unstable or unsafe. In the medium-term, attempts have been made to monitor the health and stability of remaining trees using an asset management system, though some difficulties related to consistency and ubiquity of its use have been identified. Though short and medium-term management have been largely effective, long-term management of Christchurch's urban forests will largely be dictated by government policy, which will be informed by public consultation and land ownership. Many of the benefits provided by urban forests are well understood. However, trees and greenspaces provided additional benefits during earthquakes and in the aftermath. Planted trees in the hills surrounding the city prevented rockfall from damaging infrastructure and human life downslope, while greenspaces were used as a base for search and rescue staff during rescue and recovery operations, and as temporary living spaces for residents who lost their homes.     

Spatio-temporal variation in foodscapes modifies deer browsing impact on vegetation

Context

Ungulate browsers often alter plant composition and reduce diversity in forests worldwide, yet our ability to predict browse impact on vegetation remains equivocal. Theory suggests, however, that ungulate distribution and foraging impacts are shaped by scale-dependent decisions based on variation in habitat composition and structure encountered within their home range.

Objective

Examine how variation in habitat composition at landscape (259 ha) scales modulates browse impact on vegetation at local scales.

Methods

We measured vegetation richness and abundance in plots with and without white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at 23 northern hardwood forest sites distributed across a 6500 km² area in Pennsylvania, USA. Experimental sites were embedded within landscapes with varying levels of habitat composition and deer densities.

Results

Browsing reduced vegetation richness and cover by as much as 53 and 70%, respectively; however, we found browse impact was modulated by variation in the relative abundance of managed habitats that alter forage availability. Specifically, relative to fenced areas, browse impact weakened and ultimately disappeared as the proportion of forage-rich habitats (e.g., recent harvests) increased to ≥20%. Conversely, vegetation grew increasingly depauperate as landscapes contained greater proportions of forage-poor habitats (i.e., older harvests), particularly when browsed.

Conclusions

Our results underscore how management actions that alter forage availability to ungulates throughout the landscape (i.e. the foodscape) can shape forest-ungulate interactions and suggest a new paradigm whereby managers evaluate and undertake actions at the appropriate spatio-temporal scales to proactively limit the deleterious impact of browsing on plant biodiversity.

     

Effects of vegetation structure and environmental characteristics on pollinator diversity in urban green spaces

With accelerating urbanization, insect pollinators in urban ecosystems face challenges such as reduced pollen sources, habitat fragmentation, and damage to the nesting environment. Urban green spaces (UGS) are essential for the stability of pollinator communities. However, little is known about the relationship between vertical layer heterogeneity and horizontal layer complexity of vegetation structure in UGS and pollinator communities. The present study aimed to assess how vegetation structure and environmental characteristics shape the insect pollinator community in UGS. To this end, this study was conducted with seven typical vegetation types which were selected according to the biotope mapping classification system (BMCS) in the ring parks around Hefei City, in Anhui province, China. A total of 11,401 pollinators belonging to 6 orders and 34 families were identified during the eight-month survey. Among the seven habitats under the BMCS, mainly successional short-cut shrub and partly open green space, trees two- or multi-layered broad-leaved mixed forest and partly closed green space, and mainly successional tall grass and partly open green space were identified as high-quality insect pollinator habitats. According to the results of the generalized linear regression, the explanatory power of the four best-fitting generalised linear models is relatively high (over 77%). In four optimal models, the effect of vegetation structure on pollinator community was greater than that of environmental characteristics. The redundancy discriminant analysis showed that the flowering abundance of nectar plants, herb richness, and shrub coverage rate were the three most important factors influencing insect pollinator communities, with a cumulative explanatory power of up to 78.8%. Pollinator abundance was positively influenced by spontaneous herbs and low-intensity management. However, high-intensity management, low diversity of plants, low nectar plant richness, ignoring seasonal nectar plant configuration, and dense tree distribution could limit pollinator reproduction and population growth. These results reflect the status of insect pollinator community in UGS in Hefei city and present a possible direction for improving urban green habitats and plant configurations.     

The impacts of roadside vegetation barriers on the dispersion of gaseous traffic pollution in urban street canyons

Vegetation barriers have been widely applied along urban streets to improve roadside air quality. For a deep investigation of their influences, field measurements and numerical simulations are performed in this study. Carbon monoxide (CO) is selected as a representative of gaseous traffic emissions for both field observations and numerical models. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models of the standard k-ε turbulent model and Eulerian approach for species transport are solved by FLUENT solver. Results obtained from numerical simulations show a good agreement with field observations on the distribution of roadside CO. In perpendicular wind conditions, both field observations and numerical simulations present a prominent CO reduction over the slow lanes (footpath and bikeway) when vegetation barriers exist. To effectively mitigate roadside air pollution, numerical simulations also provide the optimal heights for roadside vegetation barriers in the given street canyons. For street canyons with an aspect ratio (the ratio of building height to street width) ranging from 0.3 to 1.67, 1.1 m can be used as an optimal height, and 2.0 m could serve as an alternative if tall vegetation barriers are considered. For street canyons with an aspect ratio of lower than 0.3, 0.9 m to 2.5 m can be considered as the optimal heights for roadside vegetation barriers. According to sensitivity analysis, the optimal heights for vegetation barriers are largely insensitive to wind velocities in the given street canyons. In the more complicated urban street canyons and complex meteorological conditions, the optimal heights can be determined by specific numerical simulations. These findings are expected to provide important insights into alleviation of gaseous mobile emissions in terms of vegetation barrier design in urban streets.     

Effects of local background climate on urban vegetation cooling and humidification: Variations and thresholds

Vegetation plays a critical role in climate regulation by cooling and humidifying urban regions. The climate regulation capacity of vegetation varies in different seasons, and its association with the coupling of temperature and humidity remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the climate regulation potential of vegetation by establishing a set of indices, namely, cooling intensity (CI), cooling efficiency (CE), humidifying intensity (HI), and humidifying efficiency (HE), using continuous decadal field measurements (2013–2022) of temperature and humidity in vegetation and built-up areas in Beijing, China. Additionally, we examined the coupling effect and threshold of cooling and humidification using these indices. Climate regulation by vegetation was insignificant at night. However, the daytime results were as follows: (1) the maximum CI and CE were similar in four seasons, and their ratio was 2:3:2:1 in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively; (2) the ratio of maximum HI was 4:10:7:3, whereas that of the maximum HE was 7:8:7:2 in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively; and (3) the coupling of ambient temperature and humidity affected the climate regulation of vegetation. The CE and HE of vegetation increased significantly when the ambient temperature exceeded 15.1 °C and 8.5 °C, respectively. The CI and HI decreased with increasing humidity and were highest in a high temperature and low humidity ambient environment. Our study presents scientific insights into vegetation cooling and humidifying effects under different climate backgrounds and provides an enhanced understanding of the coping ability of vegetation in a severe heat island environment.     

The impact of landscape and adjacent land cover upon linear boundary features

The condition of over 200 km of traditional drystone walls wassurveyed within 115 km² in lowland, marginal upland and uplandlandscapes in northern England. The land covers adjacent to wallswere also recorded. Of the total length of walls surveyed, 12.6%were in disrepair. The condition of the walls differed betweenlandscapes and was also related to the type of vegetation in theadjacent enclosure. Walls enclosing conifer plantations andunimproved rough grazing were in poor condition reflectinghistorical and recent changes in their roles as livestock barriersand markers of ownership. The effect of other land covers on thecondition of walls was not consistent between landscapes. Usingdrystone walls as a simple model system suggests that the conditionof linear features in general may often be determined by both theadjacent land cover and the landscape in which the features occur.     

The impact of land use/land cover scale on modelling urban ecosystem services

Context

Urbanisation places increasing stress on ecosystem services; however existing methods and data for testing relationships between service delivery and urban landscapes remain imprecise and uncertain. Unknown impacts of scale are among several factors that complicate research. This study models ecosystem services in the urban area comprising the towns of Milton Keynes, Bedford and Luton which together represent a wide range of the urban forms present in the UK.

Objectives

The objectives of this study were to test (1) the sensitivity of ecosystem service model outputs to the spatial resolution of input data, and (2) whether any resultant scale dependency is constant across different ecosystem services and model approaches (e.g. stock- versus flow-based).

Methods

Carbon storage, sediment erosion, and pollination were modelled with the InVEST framework using input data representative of common coarse (25 m) and fine (5 m) spatial resolutions.

Results

Fine scale analysis generated higher estimates of total carbon storage (9.32 vs. 7.17 kg m^?2) and much lower potential sediment erosion estimates (6.4 vs. 18.1 Mg km^?2 year^?1) than analyses conducted at coarser resolutions; however coarse-scale analysis estimated more abundant pollination service provision.

Conclusions

Scale sensitivities depend on the type of service being modelled; stock estimates (e.g. carbon storage) are most sensitive to aggregation across scales, dynamic flow models (e.g. sediment erosion) are most sensitive to spatial resolution, and ecological process models involving both stocks and dynamics (e.g. pollination) are sensitive to both. Care must be taken to select model data appropriate to the scale of inquiry.

     

The assessment of mulch sheets to inhibit competitive vegetation in tree plantations in urban and natural environment

Weed control is often crucial for successful tree establishment. Removal or suppression of competitive vegetation has most often been done by either mowing or the use of herbicides. The Institute of Forestry and Game Management in Flanders (Belgium) has been conducting a three-year experiment (as part of a five-year programme) to assess 18 treatments for newly planted deciduous trees established on ex-agricultural sites. On grass-covered sites mortality of English oak(Quercus roburL.) decreased significantly when mulch sheets were applied. Mulch sheets increased growth of all species in a pasture. An unequivocal relation was found between the diameter of the weed-free area around the tree and the Relative Growth Rate of Common alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.). Rigid sheets, such as those made of polypropylene could severely damage the trunk of the trees. Bark mulch decreased growth of English oak in the first year, but increased it significantly after 3 years. The application of bark mulch was time-consuming compared to the other treatments. Usage of herbicides on a clay soil was nefarious to both survival and growth of the treated trees. Mowing, often used by the Flemish Forestry Service, had no significant effect on the growth of the trees.     

The S-RNase-based gametophytic self-incompatibility system in Prunus exhibits distinct genetic and molecular features

Most Prunus fruit tree species exhibit a homomorphic gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) system, in which specificity of self/nonself-recognition is controlled by products encoded within the S locus. In the pollination event, a self-incompatibility (SI) reaction is triggered when the same “S allele” specificity is expressed in both the pollen and pistil. During the last two decades, much progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular basis of the gametophytic self-incompatibility system in Prunus. Identification of the pistil S and pollen S determinants led to the development of PCR-based S genotyping and marker-assisted selection for self-compatible (SC) individuals. Molecular and genetic analyses of Prunus SC S haplotypes and polyploid sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) reveal the possible existence of a distinct SI/SC recognition mechanism in the S-RNase-based GSI system of Prunus. This review summarizes the current molecular knowledge of the S-RNase-based GSI system in Prunus with reference to data collected for S-RNase-based GSI in other plants and its potential usefulness in SC breeding.     

Methodology for urban vegetation segmentation based on cartesian hue and saturation characteristics using UAV images

A renewed importance in the urban vegetation segmentation task has been growing over the last years, mainly due to new urban planning and management projects, which require proper data on green spaces. Although multi-spectral sensors and complex systems for image acquisition that support this task are standard in some works, they show disadvantages in cost and spatial resolution. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) offer an affordable alternative so that they can get high-quality images. Such images deliver some challenges for the urban vegetation segmentation job, such as the color dispersion that urban green spaces present, vegetation greenness, and lightning conditions, like those seen in related works that use the most advanced devices. In this research, a cartesian chromatic histogram-based algorithm is proposed for urban vegetation segmentation in UAV images. The developed method uses morphological operators to enable the reduction in histogram color discontinuities. The tests that were carried about over sample images resulted in accuracy up to 98 %, surpassing the state-of-the-art tested techniques. The results validated the robustness and the accuracy of the proposal against different conditions presented in study cases.     

Relationship between urban green spaces and other features of urban morphology with traffic noise distribution

The effect of greenery on traffic noise mitigation has been extensively studied on the level of single plants, green walls, berms and hedges, but not considering whole sample areas within the cities. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between features of urban morphology related to green spaces, roads or buildings and traffic noise distribution in urban areas. The analysis was applied in eight UK cities with different historical and architectural background, following two different settlement forms (radial, linear). In each city a 30 km² grid was defined and three different levels of approach were considered (macro-scale, meso-scale, micro-scale). The first level regarded the eight cities as single entities, while in the second one every single tile of the applied grid was investigated in two different cities. In the third level only the eight city centres were analyzed. Statistical analysis was used combined with GIS tools. In total 18 variables were constructed and tested for possible relationships with noise levels (L_den). It was found that in spite of the fact that each city has its own dynamic and form, features of urban morphology were related to traffic noise levels to a different extent at each scale. At the macro-scale, the green space pattern was related to the structure of the city as well as the traffic noise levels in combination with the rest of the morphological parameters. At the meso-scale, an increase in internal road connectivity contributed to higher traffic noise. Green space variables explained part of the variance in traffic prediction models. Finally, at the micro-scale, it was also proved that different areas can have the same building coverage but different noise levels. Therefore, these indexes could be profiled and used as an “a priori” tool for urban sound planning.