Biogeochemistry of Plane Trees as a Tool to Detect Atmospheric Pollution

Manuel Viladevall,Amparo Cortés,José M Carmona,Diana Puigserver,Andrés Navarro

doi:10.4236/ijg.2013.49121

Abstract

The plane tree, which is a valuable tool to detect atmospheric pollution, is one of the most common trees in European cities. Soil and leaf samplings were carried out in Barcelona and its environs (NE Spain) to establish the soil-plant relationship. Dry and ashed leaves and soils were analyzed by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP/OES) at the ACTLABS laboratories in Ontario, Canada. Given that diesel is the main fuel used in vehicles in Europe, we sought to establish the role of diesel in atmospheric pollution. Diesel samples were obtained from service stations and analyzed after preconcentration using ICP/MS at the geochemistry laboratories of the University of Barcelona. The average content of diesel oil shows high values of Pb, Cu, Cr, Ag, Cd and Mn. High values of Pb, Cu, Au, Hg and Sb in leaves and soils were detected downtown and along main roads outside the city, whereas low levels of these elements were observed in rural areas.

Highlights

The plane tree, which is a valuable tool to detect atmospheric pollution, is one of the most common trees in European cities, e.g. London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Athens, etc
Barcelona which has a population of 1,527,190, is located on the Mediterranean coast and occupies an area of 100.4 km2 between the hills of the Collserola massif and the Mediterranean sea (Figure 1)
The leaves of plane tree are enriched in these elements but not in Cd, Se and Ag, which could be attributed to a high detection limit in the Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) analysis of dry leaves

Summary

Introduction

The plane tree, which is a valuable tool to detect atmospheric pollution, is one of the most common trees in European cities, e.g. London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Athens, etc. Our study was carried out in Barcelona (NE Spain), a Mediterranean city with a large number of the plane trees. According to data from the Municipality, Barcelona had more than 920,000 vehicles and the daily traffic involved approx 1,200,000 vehicles in the late 1990s (Figure 2). Traffic evolution in the last decade underwent considerable growth between 1992 and 1997, in which a daily traffic of 1,190,000 vehicles was achieved. This period was followed by a certain stabilization of the daily traffic during the period 1997-2005 (Figure 2). The average number of vehicles per day along this period was 1,180,000 (with an inter-annual oscillation of ±25,000 vehicles per day)

Methods

Results

Conclusion