Northern Research Station

Title: Ultraviolet radiation, human health, and the urban forest

Author: Heisler, Gordon M.; Grant, Richard H.

Date: 2000

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-268. Newtown Square, PA: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 35 p.

Station ID: GTR-NE-268

Description: Excess exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, particularly the ultraviolet B (UVB) portion, has been linked with adverse effects on human health ranging from skin cancers to eye diseases such as cataracts. Trees may prevent even greater disease rates in humans by reducing UV exposure. Tree shade greatly reduces UV irradiance when both the sun and sky are obscured. However, at locations where trees obscure the sun but leave much of the sky in view, UV radiation is much more prevalent than is indicated by the appearance of the visible shadow. Recent measurements of leaf optical properties and algorithms describing sky radiance distributions will provide information for generating computer models of the effect of trees on UV radiation.

Keywords: ultraviolet radiation, urban environments, radiation measurements, skin cancer, tree shade

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Citation

Heisler, Gordon M.; Grant, Richard H.  2000.  Ultraviolet radiation, human health, and the urban forest.   Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-268. Newtown Square, PA: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 35 p..