Usefulness of Tree Species as Urban Health Indicators.

Edina Simon,Béla Tóthmérész,Vanda Éva Molnár,Dina Bibi,Domonkos Lajtos,Szilárd Szabó

doi:10.3390/plants10122797

Abstract

We used the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI), the amount of PM5 and PM10, and the elemental analysis of leaves to explore the sensitivity of tree species to air pollution. We assessed the tolerance of Robinia pseudoacacia, Acer saccharinum, Tilia × europaea, Acer platanoides, Fraxinus excelsior, Betula pendula, Celtis occidentalis, and Platanus × acerifolia to the amount of dust, APTI, and the elemental concentration of leaves. Leaves were collected in Debrecen (Hungary), which has a high intensity of vehicular traffic. The highest amount of PM (both PM10 and PM5) was found on the leaves of A. saccharinum and B. pendula. Our results demonstrated that A. saccharinum was moderately tolerant, while P. acerifolia was intermediate, based on the APTI value. There was a significant difference in the parameters of APTI and the elemental concentration of leaves among species. We found that tree leaves are reliable bioindicators of air pollution in urban areas. Based on the value of APTI, A. saccharinum and P. acerifolia, and based on PM, A. saccharinum and B. pendula are recommended as pollutant-accumulator species, while other studied species with lower APTI values are useful bioindicators of air pollution. The results support landscape engineers and urban developers in finding the best tree species that are tolerant to pollution and in using those as proxies of urban environmental health.

Highlights

There was a significant difference among species based on leaves for the ascorbic acid content, for the pH of the leaf, and for the total chlorophyll content of leaves
Despite an earlier study [30], our results indicated that the leaves of A. saccharinum and B. pendula were useful for assessing the level of air pollution for PM10 and PM5
We demonstrated that R. pseudoacacia, T. × europaea, A. platanoides, F. excelsior, B. pendula, and

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Air pollution is an increasing problem worldwide. While in Europe air pollution decreases, it is still a problem, especially in cities; the urban and industrial areas are diverse sources of various pollutants that are a health risk for the human population [1,2]. Plants and the soil are primary sinks for air and soil pollution; the heavy metals translocated via atmospheric deposition negatively impact ecosystems [3]. Urban green spaces are vital in protecting biodiversity and improving the quality of urban life [4,5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion