A Very Quite Fern

by Maria F. Aldana — May 20, 2008

Plants are known to filter the air, and they can liven up a desk or any interior space. Another unique benefit of these green do-gooders is that they reduce background noise levels. Plants can absorb noise and diffract and reflect sound, making an atmosphere more pleasant. The size, location, and type of plant as well as the type of room can make a difference with noise absorption. Plants offer greater sound absorption in acoustically live rooms with hard materials, such as an interior space with hard flooring material and walls. Plants-in-buildings.com offers some great tips on how to reduce noise in your space with plants:

• Large plant containers--Bigger plant containers contain more compost and have a greater area of top dressing. Both of these have a significant effect on noise reduction, so it follows that they make a larger impact on the room acoustics. Experiments have shown that arrangements of different plants in groups appear to work better than individual plants.
• Several small arrangements are better than one big one--Positioning several arrangements around a space works better than concentrating the plants in one location. In this way, the surface area of the plants exposed to noise may be maximized and individual work areas in an office space will all benefit from a localized effect.
• Edges and corners are better than the center--Plants placed near the edges and corners of a space are better than plants in the middle. This is because sound is reflected from the walls straight into the foliage.
• Consider using screen plants instead of office partitions--Open-plan offices are often very noisy places. The hum of computers, the ringing of telephones, and the buzz of conversation all make for a surprisingly noisy environment. Often these spaces are divided up with partitions or ranks of filing cabinets. Plant screens are an effective alternative. The tops of filing cabinets can also be used to place plants. Small bushy plants in narrow troughs take up little space and can still be effective.