Micrometeorological Method in Determining Plant Capacity to Absorb Pollutant: Oil Palm Case Study

Abstract

The vegetation canopy's height and characteristics directly affect the turbulence that controls the exchange of mass and energy between the vegetation and the surrounding atmosphere. Turbulence also controls the momentum transfer towards the mass-carrying plant canopy and the accompanying atmospheric properties so that vegetation can contribute to pollutant deposition. This study aims to estimate the canopy capacity of oil palms to absorb pollutants based on their momentum transfer, the influence of atmospheric stability dynamics, and rainy and dry periods upon absorbed pollutants from PTPN VI in Jambi province for the period of January to December 2015 used micrometeorological observation data. The results showed that the dry deposition capacity value at the stable, neutral, and unstable atmospheric conditions were 2.06 x 10^-3 kg/m², 3.50 x 10^-3 kg/m², and 4.35 x 10^-3 kg/m², respectively.  The stable or unstable conditions affected the momentum transfer through decreasing or increasing turbulence. In stable conditions, the cooling of the atmosphere impacts the turbulence to be restrained. The result also showed that the dry deposition capacity during the dry and rainy periods were 4.5 x 10^-3 kg/m² and 2.9 x 10^-3 kg/m², respectively. Further, atmospheric conditions tended to be unstable during the dry period, while the rainy period tended to be stable. This research showed that the momentum transfer method can estimate gas type pollutants by vegetation.