23 research outputs found

    Urban deciduous tree leaves as biomonitors of trace element (As, V and Cd) atmospheric pollution in Belgrade, Serbia

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    Leaves of common deciduous trees: horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) and linden (Tilia spp.) from three parks within the urban area of Belgrade were studied as biomonitors of trace element (As, V, and Cd) atmospheric pollution. The Mayā€“September trace element accumulation in the leaves, and their temporal trends, were assayed in a multi-year period (2002ā€“2006). Significant accumulation in the leaves was evident for As and V, but not so regularly for Cd. Slightly decreasing temporal trends of V and As ac-cumulated in the leaf tissues were observed over the years. During the time span, the concentrations of Cd remained approximately on the same level, except in May 2002 and September 2005, when a rapid increase was observed. The Mayā€“September accumulations of As and V were higher in horse chestnut than in linden, although both may be used as biomonitors for these elements, and optionally for Cd in conditions of its high atmospheric loadings

    Deciduous tree leaves in trace elements biomonitoring: A contribution to methodology

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    Air quality biomonitoring using plant leaves has been widely applied to assess the effects of atmospheric pollution. Although practiced for many years, it has not given completely satisfactory data, due to different and even opposing results. This study comprises an investigation on the content of some trace elements (Al, As, Ba, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Cd, Pb) in leaves of four tree species common for the urban area of Belgrade (Serbia). The assay took place in July 2009 when the selected trees (Acer platanoides, Aesculus hippocastanum, Betula pendula, Tilia cordata) were in the maximum of physiological activity during the vegetation season. Among the investigated species, leaves of A. platanoides contained the highest concentrations of the measured elements. The assumption that a large green area in the Belgrade city periphery would be a suitable control site appeared to be disputable due to the substantial load of the elements obtained in the leaves. It was shown that even a short rinse with bidistilled water (3-5 s), applied twice to the leaves prior to chemical analysis, led to a significant decrease of some element concentrations (most pronounced for Al, Fe and Pb in all species, but also evident for Cu, Cr, Co and Zn for some of them). However, by washing leaves, the representativeness of leaf samples per studied site could be improved due to removal of some superficial loosely adhered impurities and so diminished large variability of element concentrations among leaf subsamples providing more representative information on the element content in leaves per site, and the area, respectively

    Biomagnetic monitoring of urban air pollution using moss bags (Sphagnum girgensohnii)

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    Active moss biomonitoring is widely applied in polluted areas for monitoring of airborne particle-bound trace element pollution. This study explored the suitability of the moss Sphagnum girgensohnii for biomagnetic monitoring in cities. To this end S. girgensohnii moss bags were exposed at three different microenvironments characterized by heavy traffic - street canyons, a city tunnel and parking garages during the summer and autumn of 2011 in the city of Belgrade. The ferro(i)magnetic PM fraction in the moss samples was quantified by Saturated Isothermal Remanent Magnetization (SIRM) and the measured values were compared with the trace element concentration in the moss samples. SIRM values were significantly different across the considered urban microenvironments. Moreover, a high correlation between moss SIRM values and concentrations of Al, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni and Pb was found. These results demonstrate that moss bags can be effectively applied for biomagnetic monitoring of the spatio-temporal distribution of road traffic and vehicles derived pollutants in urban areas. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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