University of Debrecen, Institute of Earth Sciences
Abstract
Atmospheric pollution caused by toxic elements is an emerging problem of concern. Tree leaves havebeen widely used as indicator of atmospheric pollutions and they are effective alternatives to the moreusual biomonitoring methods. Tree leaves can be used as natural traps of atmospheric deposition.Elemental composition of dust deposited onto leaf surfaces can be used to characterize the urbanenvironment. A pilot survey including 16 Romanian settlements was carried out in order to evaluatethe characteristics and sources of air pollutants. Tree leaves (Tilia tomentosa, Tilia cordata, Tiliaplatyphyllos) were collected and used for the measurements. Elemental analyses were carried out byICP-OES and ICP-MS. Principal component and discriminant analyses were used to characterizingand estimating the level of pollution. Settlements were grouped on the basis of discriminant functionvalues. Multivariate comparison of chemical data ordered the settlements into 3 main groups, whichshowed a systematic geographic distribution
