Version: 0.0.2 | Published: 20 Jul 2022 | Updated: 998 days ago
Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) Air Survey - Tar spot of Sycamore
Dataset
Documentation
Description:
Since 2007, OPAL's citizen scientists have collectively built a wealth of environmental data. To ensure that this rich source of information may continue to be used by researchers and the wider public, spreadsheets containing data for OPAL's core UK-wide surveys can be downloaded using the links on this page.
The OPAL Air Survey allows participants to find out about the air quality in their local area and across the country, and discover how the natural environment is affected by air pollution. It uses ‘bioindicators’, species whose presence or performance is sensitive to changes in environmental conditions. The OPAL Air Survey contains two activities, using different bioindicators of air pollution.
Activity 2: Tar spot fungus on Sycamore
The tar spot fungus is sensitive to sulphur dioxide (SO2) pollution, and is less common where levels are high. Even though SO2 pollution has reduced over the past 50 years, recent observations suggest that tar spots are still less frequent closer to city centres. Activity 2 tested two hypotheses as to why this might be:
Street cleaning in city centres removes fallen leaves, which are a source of the fungus that causes tar spot
Other types of air pollution, particularly nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from road traffic, reduce tar spot formation
Is Part Of:
NOT APPLICABLE
Coverage
Spatial
Geographical Levels:
- country
- county
Temporal
Start Date:
01 January 2007
End Date:
31 December 2019
Frequency:
STATIC
Provenance
Source:
Survey
Purpose:
Study
Access and Governance
Access
Access Rights:
Jurisdiction:
- England and Wales
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
Data Controller:
Imperial College London
Format and Standards
Languages:
ENGLISH
Origin
Name:
Data Catalogue