title: Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in plant leaves from Yan׳an city of the Loess Plateau, China.
abstract: Urban plants are capable of reducing environmental pollutions through bioaccumulation contaminants in their tissues. The accumulation of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Cd, Cr, and Zn) in leaves of nine tree species and five shrub species from Yan׳an city of China were investigated, and total metal accumulation capacities of different plants were evaluated using the metal accumulation index (MAI). The results indicated that plants in polluted environments are enriched in heavy metals relative to those in pristine environments, this is mainly caused by traffic emissions and coal combustion. Species with the highest accumulation of a single metal did not have the highest total metal accumulation capacity, the MAI should be an important indicator for tree species selection in phytoextraction and urban greening. Considering total accumulation capacities, Sabina chinensis, Juniperus formosana, Ailanthus altissima and Salix matsudana var. matsudana could be widely used in the Loess Plateau.
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Youning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China. Electronic address: wangdx66@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Dexiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Lijing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xinping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000378:metabolism*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D064028:Tracheophyta / Q000378:metabolism*; D014197:Trees / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy
keywords: Heavy metal; Loess Plateau; Metal accumulation index; Phytoextraction; Yan׳an