Ultraviolet Radiation, Human Health, and the Urban Forest

"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." [from Abstract][GTR NE-268]

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