<p>Evergreen trees grow faster than most hardwood deciduous trees, so their absorption and oxygen emission is greater.</p>
<p>Note that trees do not &quot;clean&quot; air. Plants emit oxygen which is why air in a house with lots of plants will seem more fresh. In the global environment algae and other primitive organics are primarily responsible for converting CO<sub>2</sub> to oxygen, not trees.</p>
<p>Particulate pollutants and some compounds with good water solubility, like sulfur dioxide and ammonia, are removed from air by moisture which condenses and falls to earth bringing the particulates with it.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-15T14:34:04.550Z
It just seems like a Pine, with its few small needles, has such little space for photosynthesis compared to a a tree that contains so many leaves.
dave k
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-15T17:55:31.037Z
a lot of information can be found here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749114000773
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-15T18:01:14.183Z
This answer is correct about algea. Maybe try making an Algae Bloom in a small pond!
Tardy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-07T00:20:10.840Z
On the otherhand, conifers put hydrocarbons into the air ( the "pine" smell).
blacksmith37
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-14T20:04:12.567Z
2021-04-15T04:50:14.290Z
2021-04-15T04:50:14.290Z
Tyler Durden
<p>Sorry if this is the wrong place...</p>
<p>I have been camping a lot recently and I couldn't help but notice some of the campgrounds I am in are acres and acres of mostly pine trees. These trees have very little greenery on them as opposed to most other species. Does that make, say an Oak a better tree for cleaning the air and/or as a carbon sink than a pine?  If I wanted to plant a native species of tree on my land with the intent of helping to clean the air the most, is there research that exist for that? Or is there a reasoning of 10 pines in the same space of one oak is better?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-18T21:29:35.570Z
By googling I found various opinions, including: [Forests containing several tree species could store twice as much carbon as the average monoculture plantation, research finds.](https://www.carbonbrief.org/planting-a-mix-of-tree-species-could-double-forest-carbon-storage)
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-22T12:05:57.180Z
This question is valid Multi-site, You can also ask this on Biology for better professionalism since we focus on abiotic factors and fossils, plant life also but Biology would be the best choice. Welcome to Earth science though! Keep on asking questions like these!
Tardy
<climate-change><air-quality><plant>
Which types of trees clean the air best?
dave k
# Which types of trees clean the air best?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-14)

Sorry if this is the wrong place...

I have been camping a lot recently and I couldn't help but notice some of the campgrounds I am in are acres and acres of mostly pine trees. These trees have very little greenery on them as opposed to most other species. Does that make, say an Oak a better tree for cleaning the air and/or as a carbon sink than a pine? If I wanted to plant a native species of tree on my land with the intent of helping to clean the air the most, is there research that exist for that? Or is there a reasoning of 10 pines in the same space of one oak is better?

**Tags:** climate-change, air-quality, plant

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: By googling I found various opinions, including: [Forests containing several tree species could store twice as much carbon as the average monoculture plantation, research finds.](https://www.carbonbrief.org/planting-a-mix-of-tree-species-could-double-forest-carbon-storage)  
> **username_2**: This question is valid Multi-site, You can also ask this on Biology for better professionalism since we focus on abiotic factors and fossils, plant life also but Biology would be the best choice. Welcome to Earth science though! Keep on asking questions like these!  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-04-14. Score: 3

Evergreen trees grow faster than most hardwood deciduous trees, so their absorption and oxygen emission is greater.

Note that trees do not "clean" air. Plants emit oxygen which is why air in a house with lots of plants will seem more fresh. In the global environment algae and other primitive organics are primarily responsible for converting CO2 to oxygen, not trees.

Particulate pollutants and some compounds with good water solubility, like sulfur dioxide and ammonia, are removed from air by moisture which condenses and falls to earth bringing the particulates with it.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It just seems like a Pine, with its few small needles, has such little space for photosynthesis compared to a a tree that contains so many leaves.  
> **username_4**: a lot of information can be found here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749114000773  
> **username_2**: This answer is correct about algea. Maybe try making an Algae Bloom in a small pond!  
> **username_5**: On the otherhand, conifers put hydrocarbons into the air ( the "pine" smell).  

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