title: Accumulation of particulate matter and trace elements on vegetation as affected by pollution level, rainfall and the passage of time.
abstract: Particulate matter is harmful to human health. To reduce its concentration in air, plants could be used as biological filters, accumulating particulate matter on their foliage. In a study carried out at three sites with differing pollution levels and exposure to precipitation, the capacity of evergreen species (Taxus baccata L., Hedera helix L. and Pinus sylvestris L.) to accumulate particulate matter and trace elements from ambient air in urban areas was investigated. The effects of rainfall and the passage of time on particulate matter deposition on foliage were also determined. The results showed that foliage accumulated an increasing quantity of particulate matter in successive months, but the actual amount of particulate matter and trace elements accumulated differed considerably between sites and plant species. The greatest accumulation of air pollutants occurred on the foliage of plants protected from the rain at a site exposed to traffic related pollution and the smallest accumulation at a rural site. Among the species analysed, the deposited mass of particulate matter and trace elements was the greatest on P. sylvestris. In all species, precipitation removed a considerable proportion of particles accumulated on foliage. Most of the removed particulate matter was large size fraction, but little belong to the smallest size fraction. These results showed that both, the dynamics of deposition and leaf washing by rain during the season need to be considered when evaluating the total effect of vegetation in pollutant remediation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Basic Research in Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: arkadiusz_przybysz@sggw.pl.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Przybysz
authors.affiliation: Horticulture and Urban Greening Division, Bioforsk - Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, Postvegen 213, N-4353 Klepp St., Norway.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sæbø
authors.affiliation: Horticulture and Urban Greening Division, Bioforsk - Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, Postvegen 213, N-4353 Klepp St., Norway.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Hanslin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Basic Research in Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Gawroński
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Air phytoremediation; Evergreen plants; Particulate matter; Rainfall; Trace elements