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Quantifying particulate matter accumulated on leaves by 17 species of urban trees in Beijing, China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 25, pages 12545–12556 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Airborne particulate matter (PM) has become a serious environmental problem and harms human health worldwide. Trees can effectively remove particles from the atmosphere and improve the air quality. In this study, a washing and weighing method was used to quantify accumulation of water-soluble ions and insoluble PM on the leaf surfaces and within the wax of the leaves for 17 urban plant species (including 4 shrubs and 13 trees). The deposited PM was determined in three size fractions: fine (0.2–2.5 μm), coarse (2.5–10 μm), and large (> 10 μm). Significant differences in the accumulation of PM were detected among various species. The leaves of Platycladus orientalis and Pinus armandi were the most effective in capturing PM. Across the species, 65 and 35% of PM, on average, deposited on the leaf surface and in the wax, respectively. The greatest PM accumulation by mass on leaves was in the largest PM size fraction, while the accumulation of coarse and fine particle size fractions was smaller. Water-soluble ions accumulated on the leaf surfaces contributed 28% to the total PM mass, on average. This study demonstrated that leaves of woody plants accumulate PM differently, and the most effective plant species should be selected in urban areas for attenuating ambient PM.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment (PXM2015_014207_000014), the Beijing Collaborative innovation center for eco-environmental improvement with forestry and fruit trees (PXM2017_014207_000024), the Forestry Public Welfare Project of China (201304301), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41705130) and the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0210106).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35 Tsinghua East Road, Beijing, China

    Yansen Xu, Li Mo, Xiaowu Xu & Xinxiao Yu

  2. State key laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 18 Shuangqing Road, Beijing, China

    Yansen Xu & Wen Xu

  3. China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center, No. 5 Houyingfang Hutong, Beijing, China

    Li Mo

  4. School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, David Brewster Road, Edinburgh, UK

    Mathew R. Heal

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  1. Yansen Xu
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  2. Wen Xu
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  3. Li Mo
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  4. Mathew R. Heal
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  5. Xiaowu Xu
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  6. Xinxiao Yu
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Correspondence to Xinxiao Yu.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

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Xu, Y., Xu, W., Mo, L. et al. Quantifying particulate matter accumulated on leaves by 17 species of urban trees in Beijing, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 12545–12556 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1478-4

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