I’m curious to know if anybody has done any research about PurpleAir placement near vegetation, and whether that can impact the VOC readings in a meaningful way. In other words, if we have the option to place a PurpleAir monitor near or away from a shrub or other vegetation, does it help us get a more reliable VOC reading if we move the device away from the shrub/vegetation?
Always monitoring,
Mark Dixon
Pittsburgh, PA
Plants - some of them anyway - can emit VOCs. I’m more familiar with phytoplankton emitting DMS and isoprene.
Whether having your sensor near your plants or not is a problem depends on your goals. The VOC readings near your plants are perfectly valid for that location. Maybe you’re trying to characterize a different environment?
Depends on the plants and I am not sure that the Bosch sensor is at the level of accuracy to measure plant level emissions. I also would say the data on plant specific VOC emissions is scatter at best.
See this article from USDA:(https://www.fs.usda.gov/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2014/nrs_2014_nowak_001.pdf)
Trees reduce PM2.5