Role of levoglucosan as a tracer of wood combustion in an alpine region

Abstract

Wood is the most used renewable energy source in the Italian Alpine regions but is one of the major sources of particulate matter too. In order to contribute to the assessment of the role of wood combustion in atmospheric pollution, some measurements of the concentration of a specific wood combustion tracer, levoglucosan, were performed and are presented and discussed in this paper, in the frame of a multi-step approach useful for decision makers. The experimental study presented in this paper was conducted in two urban sites, located in the same alpine town, during summer and winter, and in three mountain sites, where wood was expected to be widely used for domestic heating, during winter. Results showed differences between rural and urban areas and between winter and summer seasons. As explained in this paper, these analyses are useful when the role of wood combustion has to be studied and strategies for air quality improvement have to be planned and monitored.