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Biomonitoring of atmospheric particulate pollution via chemical composition and magnetic properties of roadside tree leaves

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Abstract

Particulate matter (PM) is a main atmospheric pollution which threats human health and well-being. In this research, we chemically and magnetically analysed roadside tree leaves, collected from three tree species in two main roads (from two different cities) and a reference area, for 28 elements and the saturation isothermal remanent magnetisation. Comparison of unwashed and washed leaves revealed that deposited particles on the leaf surface contain various elements including Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Si, Ti, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Rb, V, Zn and Zr. Moreover, there was no significant difference between washed/unwashed leaves in Cl, K, P, S, As, Cd, Cs, Pb, Sn and Sr concentrations, which indicates tree leaves may not be a suitable biomonitor for these elements. Our results showed that site and tree species are important factors which affect atmospheric elements deposition. Among the three considered tree species, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana showed the highest potential for atmospheric particle accumulation. The PCA results revealed that Al, Fe, Ti, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Rb, Si, V, Zn and Zr indicated emissions from road traffic activities and soil dust; Ca, Mg and Na from sea salts and Mn and Sb from industrial activity. The biplot results showed that the site effect was much stronger than the species effect for all elements and saturation isothermal remanent magnetisation (SIRM) values. Moreover, elements from traffic, industrial activity and soil dust are significantly correlated with leaf SIRM indicating that leaf SIRM can be a suitable bioindicator of exposure to traffic-derived particles and soil dust, and not from sea salts. It is concluded that chemical composition and SIRM of urban tree leaves can serve as a good indicator of atmospheric PM pollution in Iran and anywhere else where the studied trees grow.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Barbara Krupinska for lab assistance at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. This research did not receive any specific grant from public or commercial funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Mazandaran, P.O. Box: 416, Babolsar, Mazandaran, Iran

    Fatemeh Kardel

  2. Lab of Environmental and Urban Ecology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    Karen Wuyts & Roeland Samson

  3. AXES research group, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    Karolien De Wael

Authors
  1. Fatemeh Kardel
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  2. Karen Wuyts
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  3. Karolien De Wael
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  4. Roeland Samson
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Correspondence to Fatemeh Kardel.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Kardel, F., Wuyts, K., De Wael, K. et al. Biomonitoring of atmospheric particulate pollution via chemical composition and magnetic properties of roadside tree leaves. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 25994–26004 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2592-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2592-z

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