[Inhalable particulate matter and fine particulate matter: their basic characteristics, monitoring methods, and...

Both inhalable particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are not only one of the main causes of air pollution, but also the primary pollutants in most cities. Based on the analysis of the impacts of PM10 and PM2.5 on the environment and human health, this paper summarized the components, sources, and mass concentration variations of PM10 and PM2.5 and related affecting factors, and introduced the network layout of PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring and its principles and features. The research methods on the removal of PM10 and PM2.5 by forests, the removal rates of PM10 and PM2.5 by different forests, and the related affecting mechanisms were summed up at regional and individual scales, and the existed problems in this research field were discussed. Due to the lack of the comparable observation studies on the atmospheric PM10 and PM2.5 along different gradients and in background areas, the joint effects of multiple factors on the PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations are not revealed. It was suggested that to make a rational network layout of PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring, to correctly select proper monitoring methods, and to compare and calibrate the observed results from classical manual methods would be the bases to guarantee the validity of PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring data. At present, there are few reports about the PM2.5 removal by forests, and it's not clear about the physiological processes and ecological mechanisms of PM10 and PM2.5 removal at cell, tissue, organ, and individual level.