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LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT IS A WAY TO REDUCE POLLUTION IN MALAYSIA

Have you heard about landscape management? Landscape management is the process of overseeing the design, creation, and maintenance of a landscaping project. The real process may involve providing services to individuals, to parks, wildlife preserves or governments who maintain and protect areas of forest. This can involve such tasks as planting trees and shrubs, treating the grass and soil. So, the ground and environment area become healthy. From this view, we can say that landscape management can reduce pollution in Malaysia such air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution.

One of the major problems is air pollution. Air pollution comes from many different sources such the exhaust of motor vehicles, fossil fuels and factories. This shows that many forms of air pollution are human made. The factory, machinery, and vehicles with internal combustion engines produce nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) , carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and particulate matter (Metcalfe, 2008). The huge amount of car population leads to produce harm nitrogen oxide that comes from the incomplete combustion of petrol in car engines. The nitrogen oxide gas that known as respiratory irritant and it may cause asthma attacks and more. Combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas will produce sulphur dioxide. High level of this harmful gas will lead to inflammation of the lungs. Same with many factories located in town and cities which also produce sulphur dioxide that will form acid rain. This acid rain will destroy buildings and many plants. Other than that, the acidic emissions also can cause air pollution. The produce of carbon dioxide dissolved in water from acidic emissions of volcanic give effect to the aquatic life and also leads of rising global temperatures. The chemical conversion of sulphur and nitrogen emissions from power stations can irritate the eyes and cause breathing difficulties by irritating the lungs. In addition, natural processes such volcanoes also affect air quality. The volcanoes which produce sulphur, chlorine, ash, smoke, and carbon monoxide are harm to human health and other living things. This because, when carbon monoxide reacts with haemoglobin to form carboxylhemoglobin and this will cause headache, fatigue, breathing difficulties and even death. Cattle and other animals emit methane as part of their digestive process. Even pine trees emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Metcalfe, 2008). Natural processes like methane and VOCs from animals and plants also affect the air quality around us and cause air pollution.

Air pollution problems can be reducing by landscape management with urban vegetations or plants as a solution. Urban vegetation plays as an important role in the quality of life. The clear roles are pleasant aesthetics, shading, photosynthesis, absorbing gases pollutants, wind speed reduction, and property value appreciation, while the less obvious one include evapotranspiration, intercepting and storing rainfall, absorbing high frequency noise and many more. However not all vegetation process the same level of benefits. Some vegetation emits gases and particles that can adversely impact air quality. Vegetation chosen carefully and correctly for urban planting can measurably reduce air quality impacts (Air Resources Board, 2003). First step for this solution is vegetation and atmospheric pollution. The vegetation of cities can be the centre of environmental control being actively a filter for gas and dust. It is also can notice the presence of particulate matter in the air. Sensitive plants can be used as indicator or monitor to show the atmospheric pollution levels. This plants will react with various symptoms which need a complex understanding such as variation of plant growth, chlorosis (injuries of chlorophyll), and necrosis (death of plant cells). There are many types of plants such as spider plant, silver queen, rubber tree, aloe vera, and many more that are very sensitive to one or more specific polluting substances. Other ways is the productive function of public green. This productive function develops itself by the production of food genres and also through utilization of wood that refuses as a raw material for several uses especially for the production of energy. The other solution is absorption of air pollution by plants. Some plants, for example silver queen it can play its purification capacity and this will happen when high concentration of pollutants in the air conditions. Other plants like duck-foot timber can bring fresh air to smoke areas. Leaves of this tree can absorb smoke from the smoggy air nicotine and other harmful substance. Aleo Vera also can absorb carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Thus, air pollution will reduce by using this method.

Another problem is water pollution. Water pollution is one of the factor that cause the deaths and diseases for the whole worldwide, and it has been recorded that more than 14,000 peoples deaths daily (Wikipedia, 2006). Like other type of pollution, water pollution happen when an overwhelming amount of waste coming from different sources of pollutants can no longer be accommodated by natural ecosystem. There is actually having many specific reasons that cause water pollution. One of the causes comes from chemical and industrial processes. When the factories and manufactures pour their chemical and livestock waste directly into rivers, the water becomes poisonous and oxygen levels are decrease causing many aquatic organisms to die. This waste includes solvents and toxic substances which made of this are not biodegradable. Thus, it takes long period to decompose and cause pollution. The power plants use water to cool their machineries will change the temperature and this contaminates the water. Other cause is the uses of pesticides by farmers. Farm pesticides poison aquatic plants and animals. Animal manure, chemical fertilizers, and phosphate detergent pollute water by supplying excess nutrients. This greatly increases the growth of algae in water thereby decreasing the amount of oxygen level in water causing the death of many aquatic organisms. One more cause is sewage coming from households. Since no people wants to live in a polluted areas, the wastewater and untreated sewage are carried away from the home polluting different bodies of water. Most developing countries practice this type of sewage disposal. The danger is when the sewage pipes broken and waste pollute the drinking water. When this happen, the breakage will bring disease that it will surely cause danger to consumer’s health. Personal care like shampoo, lotion, hair dye, fabric softener, and many others also contribute to water pollution. These entire products also join the wastewater to contaminate the rivers and lakes that give harmful to human and living things.

The way to reduce water pollution is by sustainable landscaping. Sustainable landscaping is a variety of practices that have developed in response to environmental issues. These practices are used in every phase of landscaping including design, construction, implementation and management of residential and commercial landscapes. The first step is composting and irrigation. Composting is a way to recycle household’s products from carried away to the bodies of water. Compost can be added as an adjustment to poorly draining soil as a fertilizer on flower and vegetables bed, to fruit trees or used as a potting soil for potted plants. Trimmings from lawns, trees and shrubs from a large landscape site can be used as feedstock for on-site composting. So, this will reduce water pollution to increase. Irrigation is using mulch which is great way to reduce water loss due to evaporation, minimize erosion, dust and mud problem. The uses of mulching also decrease the amount of fertilizer needed, reduce landfill waste and reduce cost of disposal. Other method is planting selection. Most of this is grow of a non-native plant which has adapted to the local climate conditions. The local trees will release water vapour and water has the ability to reduce temperature extremes. Additionally, the presence of trees is crucial in the creation of stable, healthy and productive ecosystem.

The last problem is soil pollution. Soil pollution is a condition that occurs when soil loses its structure, biological properties and chemical properties due to the use of various man-made chemical and other natural changes in the soil environment (Wikipedia, 2005). One of the causes is increase in urbanization and industrial activities. The construction uses a lot of forestland. When more of this activity occurs, it will increase in demand of raw materials like wood, timber and others. This activity also leads to the exploitation and destruction of forest. Industrial activities also contribute to the factor of soil pollution. The other cause is increase in agricultural land and agricultural activities. Forest were cut down due to the more land allocated for agricultural purpose. This will exterminates wildlife and vegetation that provides food and shelter also destroyed. In addition, excessive use of pesticides and herbicides by farmers also factor that causing soil pollution. These chemical substances contaminate the soil when farmers wash it into soil. It also adversely affects the microorganisms present in the soil and causing the soil to loss its fertility and resulting in the loss of minerals present in the soil. The other factor causing soil pollution is increase of soil erosion. This happen when topsoil moves from one place to another cause by human-made or natural like wind, water, deforestation, and farming. The loss of topsoil due to erosion results in a loss of soil fertility and a decrease in the soil capacity to retain water. When a slope of soil conservation is exposed, surface runoff would wash away the soil. Thus, soil pollution will occurs.

The ways to reduce soil pollution is by conservation landscaping. Conservation landscaping is a good landscape management that use to reduce soil pollution, creation of health risks for people and wildlife, and treats to the environment. One of the solutions is use plants that are native to the areas. Native plants or local plants that have adapted to the growing conditions of an area are better able to handle stress and it also can avoid from soil erosion and climatic conditions of the areas. Green plants absorbs the impact of rains and it roots help retain water in soil. Next solution is reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Aerate soil to reduce the amount of compacted soil, which often inhibits root penetration as well as the amount of nutrients and water reach the root. The uses of mulching mower do not only reduce lawn waste, but it is also add nutrients to soil and this avoid from using excessive of fertilizers and will reduce soil pollution.

As a conclusion, pollution that face in Malaysia such air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution can be reduced by applying landscape management to environment. The government should play the main role to solve this problem from increasing to the alarming point.

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