title: Pb and Cd Contents in Soil, Water, and Trees at an Afforestation Site, South China.
abstract: Pb and Cd contents in 13 plantation tree species (leaf and branch components), soil, water (groundwater and river water) at a young (3-5 year-old) seashore afforestation stand were investigated in Nansha district, Guangzhou city in southern China. The results showed that (1) soil, rather than water or trees, had the highest content of both Pb (averagely 48.79 mg/kg) and Cd (0.50 mg/kg), demonstrating that soil might function as a major reservoir for extraneously derived heavy metals; (2) Pb content was higher in branches than in leaves, but Cd content appeared similar in both components, implying possibly different accumulation mechanisms in trees; (3) Pb and Cd appeared to accumulate differently among some tree taxa, whereas almost no significant difference was detected between introduced and indigenous species. The study indicated that trees were potentially useful to remediate sites contaminated with Pb and Cd in the urbanized areas.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China.
authors.forename: Nancai
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China. zsjcsdwcbf@126.com.
authors.forename: Bufeng
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: US Geological Survey (USGS), National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS), Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA.
authors.forename: Shuguang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D065928:Forests; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014197:Trees / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead
keywords: Heavy metal; Mega-city; Pearl River Delta; Phytoremediation; Urban forest