INTERIOR PLANTS FOR SUSTAINABLE
FACILITY ECOLOGY AND
WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY
Margaret Burchett
Fraser Torpy & Jane Tarran
Plants and Indoor Environmental Quality Group
Faculty of Science
University of Technology, Sydney
Outline
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Basics of human ecology
Human ecology comes to town
Need for healthy facility ecology
Urban problems:
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Air pollution,
• Chronic stress, &
• Scarcity of green oases
• Urban plantings alleviate problems
• Values of indoor plants to improve IEQ:
• Indoor air quality (IAQ)
• Occupant wellbeing and productivity
• Urban/indoor plants helping enabling sustainable communities
Human ecology - 0.5 to 2 million years
www.virtualtourist.com
‘Hunter/gatherer’ diet
-GATHERING - PLANTS
• Fruit, including:
-Cereal grains
-Soft fruit (including also most ‘vegetables’)
-Nuts
• Roots
• (A few leaves)
-HUNTING - ANIMALS
• Mammal / bird / fish protein - when hunt was successful
• And it hasn’t changed much since
Human settlement - 10 thousand years
•Planting
•Fencing herds
•Housing
Human plant needs
For ‘Body’:
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Food / Drink
Fodder / Fences
Fuel / Fire
Fibre / Ropes
Fabrics
Remedies (herbals)
Shade / Shelter
Timber (tools, weapons, buildings, boats)
• [O2 (lungs of planet) / CO2 & pollution sink]
More Human plant needs
For ‘Mind and Spirit’:
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Beauty
Perfumes
Pleasure & leisure
Peace and calm
Poetry / mysticallity
Piety / spirituality
Glimpses of Paradise
Ancient city-state economies - 3 to 4 thousand years
•Irrigation
•Palaces /kings
•Temples/ priests
•Religious monuments
•Leisure
Google images
The move to ‘metropolis’ - 200 years
(And, air pollution increases!)
Towards enabling sustainable
urban communities Questions:
•How well adapted are we
to our ‘urban ecology’?
And/or
•How can we adapt ‘urban ecology’
to fulfil our fundamental needs?
Pros of urban living
•Better education
•Less strenuous manual labour
•More employment
•Better public health (sewage & waste disposal)
•Much lower mortality from infectious diseases
•More available health services
•More entertainments
•Longer life expectancy
Cons of urban living
• Dependence on distant food sources
• ‘Ecological footprint’ far larger than obvious
• More additives/preservatives for food ‘keeping’
• Chronic sedentary diseases
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular dysfunctions
• Mental health problems
• Stress
• Depression
• Violence Air
• Air pollution health risks
• ‘Nature / Plant / Escape / Restoration’ - deprivation
Continued need of links with ‘nature’
•‘Location, location, location!’
•Property values
•Who get the offices with the window views?
•Most popular ‘family’ websites:
-Gardening
-Fishing
-Weekend get-away info
-(Recipes! Food, glorious food)
Urban air quality- the situation
• 80% Australians live in cities
•Urban air quality is a health concern
•Air pollution kills ~1,400 p.a. in Sydney
• Spend ~90% of our time indoors
• Indoor air quality is a health concern - and
• Indoor air pollution is ~always higher than
outdoors
Outdoor urban air pollutants
From burning fossil fuels-Primary emission products
-Carbon oxides (CO2) (CO)
-Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
-Sulfur oxides (SOx)
-Metals
-Air toxics - ie organics (‘BTEX’, PAHs)
-Fine particulates’(PM10 / 2.5)
-Secondary (photochemical)
-More NOx
-Ozone (O3)
-Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)
-Smog/haze
Urban air pollution health risks
Short-term
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Asthma
Strokes
Heart attacks
Sudden infant death syndrome
Long-term
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Low birth weights
Some cancers
Other cardiovascular problems
Mental illnesses
NY / www.pollutionissues.com
Indoor air pollution
Outdoor pollution load plus • Sometimes-
-More NOx, SOx & CO (with gas appliances)
•Generally-Higher CO2 levels
•Always-House dust
-Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
from:
-furniture, fabrics, fittings
-paints, glues
-computers, printers
-solvents, detergents
-shampoos, cosmetics; etc.
(www.morganlovell.co.uk / m3mary.com / dragonflyoffice.co.uk)
Added risks from indoor air pollution
Can cause ‘Sick -building syndrome’• VOCs - even at imperceptible levels, can cause-Short-term
-Loss of concentration
-Headaches, ‘Woozy-head’
-Dry eyes, nose, throat
-Nausea
-Long-term
-Chronic health problems - as for outdoor sources
• Elevated CO2
-Stuffiness, drowsiness, loss of concentration
Indoor plants improve IAQ • Reducing levels of-NOx
-SOx
- Air toxics and VOCs
-Dust
• Stabilising
-Humidity
-Temperature
-Noise
• Hence helping improve
-Staff wellbeing
-Productivity (reduction in sick leave)
Our laboratory studies on VOC removal
Test design
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Eleven plant species
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Four VOCs
-Benzene, toluene, xylene, n-hexane
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Test conditions
- Continuous light
- Initial dose
- Daily top-up doses
- VOC disappearance rates measured
- Continuous dark - rate effects?
- Doubled dose - rate effects?
- Plant removed, potting-mix tested
Test-chamber findings
• Rate of VOC removal accelerates after initial dose
• After 4-5 d >10 times initial rates
• Once ‘induced’, top-up doses removed in ~24 h
• Works as well in light or dark (24/7)
• With low or high doses
• Potting-mix bacteria main removal agents
• Plant roots nourish pot-mix microorganisms
• So - removal depends on ‘plant-potting-mix microcosm’
• All species tested work equally well
Xylene removal with Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ Effects of increasing dosages
Dra caen a/ si n gl e VOC:m-xy lene
VOC do s e = 0 .2 0 p pm
( 0 .8 73 mg m -3 )
150
VOC do s e = 1 .0 p p m
( 4 .3 7 mg m -3 )
100
m-xy lene 50
% o f d o se
0
150
VOC do s e = 1 0 p pm
( 4 3.7 mg m -3 )
VOC do s e = 1 0 0 pp m
( 4 37 mg m -3 )
100
50
0
0
1 2
3
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0
Day
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3 4
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7 8
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OK -But -what about the real-world?
Our office field-study
Design
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3 UTS buildings (2 with & 1 without air-conditioning)
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Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ & Spathiphyllum ‘Sweet Chico’
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3 planting regimes (+ ‘reference’ offices - 0 plants)
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Two 5-9 week sampling periods
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Total 60 offices (12 per treatment)
Office study - weekly samplings
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Measured-Total VOCs (TVOCs)
-Temperature
-Humidity
-Carbon dioxide (CO2)
-Carbon monoxide (CO)
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Passive monitors identifed-Individual VOCs
Floor specimens of
D. ‘Janet Craig’ (0, 3 or 6 pots)
160
140
(a)
120
100
TVOC (ppb)
80
60
40
20
500
(b)
400
300
TVOC (ppb)
200
100
0
0 Plants
3 Plants
6 Plants
Ambient
Office VOC findings - summary
• No-plants - TVOC loads ~80-400 ppb
• When TVOCs rose >100 ppbany planting reduced levels to <100 ppb
• Worked as well + air conditioning
• 3 plants as effective as 6; so:• Minimum needed is less than we used
• No jungle needed to reduce TVOCs
CO2 and CO removal - mechanisms
• Green plants make their own food out of CO2
6CO2 + 6H2O **light energy** → (C6H12O6) + 6O2
& chlorophyll
Sugar
• Plants & potting-mix microorganisms:
-Also absorb and use CO
Office study - CO2 & CO removal
Effects of 3 Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’, + air-conditioning.
(Outdoor CO2 ~ 370 ppm)
Air
cond.?
Plant
Nos.
CO2 (ppm)
Yes
0
409 ± 6.2
Yes
3
366 ± 7.3
No
0
386 ± 17
No
3
290 ± 15
Removal
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CO (ppb)
Removal
%
225 ± 35
10
17 ± 8
90
71 ± 24
25
10 ± 5
85
Urban plants for wellbeing and productivity
Plant physio-psychological benefits
•In urban green-spaces (oases)
•Views from the window
•Bringing the plants inside
Value of urban green-spaces
aviewoncities.com
How nearby plants ‘work’ for wellbeing
Research by Kaplan & Kaplan (1993) found that:
• Plants relieve ‘attention fatigue’, and thus• Provide a ‘restorative environment’• By providing 4 qualities:
– Attracting ‘effortless attention’ ( or ‘fascination’)
– Feelings of temporary ‘awayness’ or ‘escape’
– ‘Extending scope’ of consciousness
– ‘Flowing with one’s inclinations’ (of rest, calm)
www.amazon.co.uk
Plant views help occupants’ wellbeing
fotosearch.com
Healing benefits of plant views
Moore (1981) -Prisoners:
• Showed less disruptiveness
• Requested less medication
Ulrich (1984) - surgical patients:
• Left hospital ~2 days earlier
• Fewer painkillers
• Savings - $ millions
Benefits of indoor plants
www.superplants.co.uk
Health benefits of indoor plants
Various studies show:
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Coughing & fatigue down 37%
Ear, nose and throat symptoms down 23%
Sick-leave down from 15.9 to 5.6% ( >60% reduction)
Children’s sick-leave down in primary classroom
Perception of pain reduced
Blood pressure reduced
Anxiety, depression, hostility reduced
Perceptions of calm and pleasure increased
All these effects mean:
– Better health for occupants
– Significantly improved productivity
Performance benefits of indoor plants
Studies show better performance on tests:
• Computer manipulations
• Card-sorting tasks
• Creative thinking on test words
• Only a few moments ‘rest’ on plant remedied ‘attention fatigue’
These effects mean:
-Enhanced job performance
-Less fatigue
-Better job satisfaction
-Improved productivity
Effects of indoor plants on‘Business Image’
Study with170 respondentsAll agreed indoor plants give perception that business is:
• Warm and welcoming
• Stable and balanced
• Well-run
• Comfortable to work with
• Patient and caring
• Concerned for staff welfare
• Prepared to spend money on added beauty
• Not mean
• Providing a healthier, cleaner atmosphere
These effects mean smoother business, better sales
Cost-benefit analysis of indoor plants
Approximate Costs
Scenario 1
• 1 floor plant
• 1 new staff member
• If plant gives -> 12%
• inc. in productivity
• Staff member now worth
• (Or, provide 30 more plants)
Scenario 2
• Plant brings retention of• 1 staff member - so
• Save cost of hiring/training
new one • (Or, provide 20 more plants)
$ p.a
200
50,000
6,000
56,000
> 5,000
Conclusions
• Healthy ‘facility ecology’ must• Enable and encourage continued human/plant linkages
• Indoor plants represent an:
-adaptive, self-regulating
-portable, flexible
-relatively low-cost
-sustainable, beautiful
-biofiltration and biorestoration system
for healthy facility ecology
• Helping satisfy the ‘triple bottom line’ of:
-environmental
-social, &
-economic considerations
• Towards the goal of ‘enabling sustainable communities’
Acknowledgements
External funding support
*National Interior Plantscape Association (NIPA)
*Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL)
*Rentokil Tropical Plants
*The Container Connection
UTS colleagues
*Ms G Armstrong, Mr J Brennan
*(Former colleagues Drs R Wood, R Orwell)
Species UTS lab-tested to date
•Aglaonema modestum
•Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’
•Dracaena marginata
•Howea forsteriana (Kentia palm)
•Epipremnum aureum (Pothos)
•Philodendron ‘Congo’
•Sansevieria trifasciata (Mother-in-law’s tongue)
• Schefflera ‘Amate’ (Qld. Umbrella Tree)
•Spathiphyllum ‘Petite’ (Peace Lily)
•Spathiphyllum ‘Sensation’
•Zamioculcas zamiifilia (Zanzibar)
Whyfly/org Google images