PJB-2023-151
M P Sugumaran
Abstract
Vegetation has been proposed as a natural material to reduce noise energy outdoors. Evergreen trees of the subtropics might have somewhat different effects. Furthermore, many earlier studies have only examined tree belts of particular species but failed to discuss the noise reduction effect concerning the form of the tree, or the density, height, length and width of the tree belt. This research aims to locate and evaluate the effect of vegetation on the reduction of industrial noise and traffic noise. Accordingly, the noise reduction effect of various high plantation tree belts was examined in this study. The tree belt parameters examined in this study included woody plant width, height, canopy diameter, location, spacing, and age of trees. The article studies various sites for analysing the noise level in and around the Coimbatore district. For acoustic measurement, thirty sizable plantations of a single species that had a uniform density and height were selected. These tree species are observed from different sources and assessing the noise reduction levels by different tree species. Initially, the study analyses the noise level in various industrial sites which includes Powerlooms in Somanur, Bluemetal crusher in Karur, near construction sites and workshops noise levels are measured using Larson-Davis 824 sound level meters. Overall, the levels of noise increase with traffic volume, vehicle speeds and percentage of heavy vehicles. The noise produced by vehicles is a combination of noises (engine, exhaust and tire). In addition, the study analyses the noise levels inside the Tamilnadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and Anna University campus, Coimbatore. The study was carried out using the close density (Miyawaki) method of the plantation and normal method of planting located in and around Coimbatore. These sites utilized a total of 13 sets of mixed high-density tree species to predict the reduction in noise level by trees. Simulated noise was created using different sources at 1 m from the edge of the tree belt and 1 m above the ground level and the reduction in noise level by various vegetations was observed at 25 m distance. Furthermore, the study analyses the noise level reduction in forest areas like the Deciduous Forest in Mettupalayam and Anaikutty Scrub jungle in Maruthamalai and Mettupalayam and Bamboo plantation in Tiruppur. Among 30 different tree species studied for noise reduction, the maximum noise reduction was observed in four tree species viz., Pithacelobium dulce, Neolamarckia cadamba, Thespesia populnea and Azardhirachta indica (20 to 23.5 dB). The second set of tree species which performed better noise reduction were Pongamia pinnata, Bambusa balcooa, Alstonia scholaris, Pterocarpus marsupium, Madhuca indica, Melia dubia, Mutinga calabura, Musa sp and Moringa oleifera (15 to 18 dB).
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