Influence Of Vehicle Emissions Research Articles

Morphophysiological features of the generative offspring of Aesculus hippocastanum L. from various ecologically unfavorable areas of an industrial city

The results of the influence of various ecological conditions of an industrial city (environmentally favorable zone, zones of motor vehicle emissions and metallurgical production, damage by the chestnut miner Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimič) on the functional state of the generative offspring of Aesculus hippocastanum L. were given. The average degree of the mass variability of the horse chestnut seeds was revealed, the level of which depended on the type of pollution. Higher values of the variation coefficient were established in seeds from monitoring sites ecologically unfavorable for plant growth. A decrease in the mass of ripe seeds of horse chestnut exposed to the effects of vehicle emissions, metallurgical production, and the severe attack of the chestnut moth C. ohridella was shown compared to samples from an ecologically favorable zone. It was found that the moisture loss in seeds from the ecologically favorable zone was on average 25.0 %, while from the main road zone – 15.2 %. A decrease in the content of storage proteins by an average of 14.5 % in the zones of anthropogenic pollution was observed. The largest values of this characteristics were shown by most trees from the ecologically favorable zone. In the seeds of A. hippocastanum plants, an increase in the activity of both benzidine peroxidase and catalase was established mainly under the effects of aerotechnogenic pollution. The level of enzyme activity depended on the type of phytotoxic emissions. A decrease in the activity of benzidine peroxidase was registered due to the effects of motor vehicle emissions, and an increase due to the effects of metallurgical production. A significant increase in catalase activity was found in the seeds of A. hippocastanum trees from two monitoring sites and, especially, under the influence of vehicle emissions, which can be explained by a compensatory reaction in response to reduced peroxidase activity. An individual reaction of the studied protein system (storage proteins, antioxidant enzymes) of the seeds of some trees was observed, regardless of the stress level of technogenic load and the type of pollutants. At each monitoring site, trees whose seeds had both increased and significantly decreased enzyme activity were identified. In the Botanical Garden and in the park near the metallurgical enterprise, the seeds of only one of three trees showed high activity of both peroxidase and catalase. Considering the physiological functions of the studied enzymes in the seeds and the reaction of the plant organism to biotic and abiotic stresses, the increase in the activation of catalase and peroxidase indicated their participation in antioxidant protection against active forms of oxygen to ensure a reduction in the intensity of damage processes in the generative offspring of A. hippocastanum L. The variability of the level of enzyme activity in horse chestnut seeds means adaptation to environmental conditions and, in general, reveals the adaptive ability of generative offspring to germinate due to the high antioxidant potential to counteract the development of oxidative stress under the influence of adverse environmental factors. It was concluded that the chronic influence of adverse factors of the urban environment causes the formation of individual seeds with increased antioxidant protection characteristics, which can be used as planting material when creating sustainable plantations in an industrial city.

Traffic assignment in urban transportation network problem with emission constraints in China: a cooperative game theory

Traffic assignment in urban transport planning is the process of allocating traffic flows in a network. Traditionally, traffic assignment can reduce travel time or travel costs. As the number of vehicles increases and congestion causes increased emissions, environmental issues in transportation are gaining more and more attention. The main objective of this study is to address the issue of traffic assignment in urban transport networks under an abatement rate constraint. A traffic assignment model based on cooperative game theory is proposed. The influence of vehicle emissions is incorporated into the model. The framework consists of two parts. First, the performance model predicts travel time based on the Wardrop traffic equilibrium principle, which reflects the system travel time. No travelers can experience a lower travel time by unilaterally changing their path. Second, the cooperative game model gives link importance ranking based on the Shapley value, which measures the average marginal utility contribution of links of the network to all possible link coalitions that include the link, and assigns traffic flow based on the average marginal utility contribution of a link with system vehicle emission reduction constraints. The proposed model shows that traffic assignment with emission reduction constraints allows more vehicles in the network with an emission reduction rate of 20% than traditional models.

Influence of phytoncide activity of Thuja occidentalis L. on strains of microorganisms under the action of car load (Dnipro city)

Landscaping of modern cities is impossible without increasing the area of green planting, which performs the function of turning the environment into more health-friendly one. Especially valuable are the species of ornamental plants that have high volatile activity. Because volatiles regulate the balance of pathogenic microflora in the air of cities, they significantly improve people's living conditions. According to the results of a previous study it was found that Thuja occidentalis L. and Th. plicata Donn ex D. Don f. “Zebrina” had the highest bactericidal activity during the winter among members of the family Cupressaceae. Given the frost, wind, gas and smoke resistance of Th. occidentalis, the aim of the study was to investigate the dynamics of phytoncide activity of the needles of this tree species during the year in a relatively clean zone and under the influence of vehicle emissions on plants in the urban ecosystem of Dnipro. The material was collected in all seasons of the year at two monitoring points in Dnipro, which differ in the level of environmental pollution by vehicle emissions. Traffic intensity was determined by the Potichuk & Pilipaka method. Antimicrobial action of Th. occidentalis was studied by the method of placing the crops of microbial test cultures under the effect of volatile secretions of needles and evaluating the result on a scale of phytoncide activity. The test subjects were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus sp., Bacillus subtilis, Esherechia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Candida albicans. Studies have shown that in a relatively clean area and under the action of traffic loads, the inhibitory effect of needles on the studied strains of microorganisms changes during the year: in winter it is the smallest, in spring begins to grow, in summer is maximum, and in autumn decreases again. Under the man-made growth conditions, the greatest volatile activity of Th. оccidentalis performs on test objects such as: S. aureus, Micrococcus sp. and E. coli. When affected by car load, there is significant inhibition of phytoncide production by needles in the presence of C. albicans, to a lesser extent – Ps. fluorescens and B. subtilis. It is recommended to use Th. оccidentalis in landscaping of urban areas with moderate traffic.

Effect of vehicle emissions on the morphological and physiological changes of Taraxacum officinale web

Road transport is one of the main pollutants of atmospheric air and soil in modern cities, therefore, an important issue is the comprehensive diagnosis of the state of the environment, which can be carried out by phytoindication methods, and which make it possible to comprehensively assess the environmental risks of the roadside environment for living organisms. The article analyzes the morphological and physiological changes of Taraxacum officinale Web. that occurred under the influence of vehicle emissions. For research, we chose a territory with significant aerotechnogenic loads due to both stationary sources of pollution and traffic flows –the southwestern district of the city for the analysis of plants, the following indicators were studied: mass of plants; leaf length;proportion of altered forms; ascorbic acid content; chlorophyll concentration. In the study, biometric, spectrophotometric and statistical methods were used. The results of the studies showed that in all plants inhibition of parameters was observed in comparison with the control samples. An analysis of the tightness of the relationship between the morphophysiological parameters of the plant, the traffic intensity and the distance from the road were influenced by the average mass of plants (r=0.97) in the area with heavy traffic, the content of chlorophyll (r=0.92) in the same area, the proportion of altered forms (r=-0.94). The correlation coefficient of the proportion of altered forms is negative, since the number of altered forms decreases with increasing distance from the road. It was found, that content of chlorophyll depends on traffic intensity and the distance from the road (the correlation coefficient ranged from 0.88–0.97). Indicators of leaf length and vitamin C content turned out to be less informative, since there is no clear relationship between these indicators and distance from the road (r=0.54), although with an increase in the distance from the highway, there is a slight increase in leaf length, but the content of vitamin C did not show depending on the distance to the road. The further developments lies in the refinement of the information content of such an indicator as the content of ascorbic acid in order to use it to indicate invisible changes in the vegetation cover.

Influence of vehicle emissions on the male generative system of Aesculus hippocastanum L.

The article presents the results of a study of the impact of vehicle emissions on populations of Aesculus hippocastanum L. growing along roads with different traffic intensities. It was found that in areas of heavy vehicle traffic there is an increased level of abortive pollen production. Plant populations increasing the formation of damaged gametes with increasing anthropogenic load on phytocoenoses can be used for phytoindication of the environmental pollution degree. In areas with heavy traffic, pollutants have an average toxic effect on the gametogenesis of Aesculus hippocastanum L. The quality and degree of damage to the pollen zone formed by plants can serve as a bio-test of the mutagenic effect of environmental factors that have a modifying effect on male gametophyte of higher plants.

Concentration, ozone formation potential and source analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a thermal power station centralized area: A study in Shuozhou, China

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from two sampling sites (HB and XB) in a power station centralized area, in Shuozhou city, China, were sampled by stainless steel canisters and measured by gas chromatography-mass selective detection/flame ionization detection (GC-MSD/FID) in the spring and autumn of 2014. The concentration of VOCs was higher in the autumn (HB, 96.87 μg/m3; XB, 58.94 μg/m3) than in the spring (HB, 41.49 μg/m3; XB, 43.46 μg/m3), as lower wind speed in the autumn could lead to pollutant accumulation, especially at HB, which is a new urban area surrounded by residential areas and a transportation hub. Alkanes were the dominant group at both HB and XB in both sampling periods, but the contribution of aromatic pollutants at HB in the autumn was much higher than that of the other alkanes (11.16–19.55%). Compared to other cities, BTEX pollution in Shuozhou was among the lowest levels in the world. Because of the high levels of aromatic pollutants, the ozone formation potential increased significantly at HB in the autumn. Using the ratio analyses to identify the age of the air masses and analyze the sources, the results showed that the atmospheric VOCs at XB were strongly influenced by the remote sources of coal combustion, while at HB in the spring and autumn were affected by the remote sources of coal combustion and local sources of vehicle emission, respectively. Source analysis conducted using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model at Shuozhou showed that coal combustion and vehicle emissions made the two largest contributions (29.98% and 21.25%, respectively) to atmospheric VOCs. With further economic restructuring, the influence of vehicle emissions on the air quality should become more significant, indicating that controlling vehicle emissions is key to reducing the air pollution.

Potential utilization for the evaluation of particulate and gaseous pollutants at an urban site near a major highway

Works of particle number and mass concentration variability have a great importance since they may indicate better the influence of vehicle emissions in an urban region. Moreover, the importance of this work lies in the fact that there are few studies in Brazil, where the fuel used has unique characteristics. Consequently, this paper presents measurements of particle number (size range 0.3–10μm), particle mass (PM10, PM2.5, PM1), O3 and NOx (NO, NO2), in a site near a major highway at the Metropolitan Area of Porto Alegre, south Brazil. Measurements were carried out during two years: 2012 and 2013. Particle number and mass concentrations were measured using an optical counter with a PM10 analyzer. Results showed that concentrations of N0.3–1 (0.3–1μm) were the highest, although similar to N1–2.5 (1–2.5μm). Daily variability of the analyzed pollutants followed the traffic pattern. Moreover, NO2, O3, and particle number were higher during the day, whereas NO, NOx, and particle matter showed higher concentrations during nighttime. Traffic influence was evidenced by the mean concentrations of weekends and weekdays, being higher for the latter. Correlation of particles and gases with meteorological variables, together with the application of PCA confirmed the influence of vehicle exhaust discharges.

Rationing exhaust emission of vehicles and transition to Euro standards

Influence of vehicle emissions in the environment is one of the most important environmental issues of our time. Composition and concentration of emissions of internal combustion engines of motor vehicles at the various modes of operation at different fuel type for both gasoline and diesel engines was analyzed. The features of state standards of Ukraine on emission norms, international standards - Euro standards, Rules of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the implementation stages and the effect of the Euro standards were considered. Construction principles, physical characteristics of measurement methods, specifications of devices that measure smoke (smoke meters) and toxicity of exhaust emissions (gas analyzers) were examined. The necessity of further modernization of modern national standards, harmonized with international standards, which have normalized the level of emissions from motor vehicles in accordance with the ever-increasing environmental requirements, was substantiated.

Lead and zinc content of cows' milk affected by varying traffic density

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of vehicle emissions on zinc and lead content of cow's milk, grazing at 15 different locations near to roadsides in Sakarya, Turkey. The results obtained for zinc were between 1262 μg kg−1 and 6566 μg kg−1. An acceptable range of zinc content from various sides confirmed the absence of possible toxicological risks in this region. The lead levels ranged from 3.24 μg kg−1 to 80.69 μg kg−1. The levels of lead in milk samples collected from roadside pastures were higher than the regulatory limits and pose a health risk.