title: Lipid-content-normalized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the xylem of conifers can indicate historical changes in regional airborne PAHs.
abstract: The temporal variation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations as well as the lipid content in the xylem of Masson pine trees sampled from the same site were determined and compared with the days of haze occurrence and with the historical PAHs reported in sedimentary cores. The patterns of the lipid content as well as the PAH concentrations based on the xylem dry weight (PAHs-DW) decreased from the heartwood to the sapwood. The trajectories of PAHs normalized by xylem lipid content (PAHs-LC) coincided well with the number of haze-occurred days and were partly similar with the historical changes in airborne PAHs recorded in the sedimentary cores. The results indicated that PAHs-LC in the xylem of conifers might reliably reflect the historical changes in airborne PAHs at a regional scale. The species-specificity should be addressed in the utility and application of dendrochemical monitoring on historical and comparative studies of airborne PAHs.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China. Electronic address: kuangyw@scbg.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yuan-wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China. Electronic address: lijiong@scbg.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China. Electronic address: houeq@scbg.ac.cn.
authors.forename: En-qing
authors.initials: EQ
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D008055:Lipids; D028223:Pinus / Q000737:chemistry; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D064028:Tracheophyta / Q000737:chemistry*; D052584:Xylem / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008055:Lipids; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Dendrochemistry; Historical change; Lipid-content-normalization; Masson pine; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Xylem