title: Human contribution to trace elements in urban areas as measured in holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) bark.
abstract: The effect of human activities on the presence of trace elements in the atmosphere was evaluated by analyzing samples of holm oak bark, collected in Italy in a large city, in a small town, and in a reference area, scarcely inhabited. In all cases, point sources of pollution were excluded (e.g., industries and incinerators). The concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn were measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The element concentrations in the small town are not different from the reference area, except for Pb and Cu, while the samples collected in the large city show higher concentrations of Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn with respect to the rural area. In particular, the Pb levels in the large city are approximately 16 times higher than in the reference site, and five times higher than in the small town. Most element concentrations are correlated in the large city, while in the reference site, only a few significant correlations between elements were found. Even in the absence of specific sources of pollution, populations living in big cities are exposed to higher concentrations of trace elements than those living in rural environments or in small urban centers.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Farmacia (DIFAR), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy. minganti@difar.unige.it.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1619-8379
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Minganti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Farmacia (DIFAR), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Drava
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Farmacia (DIFAR), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giordani
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e della Vita (DISTAV), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Malaspina
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e della Vita (DISTAV), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Modenesi
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry*; D029963:Quercus / Q000737:chemistry*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D014507:Urbanization
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Atmospheric pollutants; Holm oak bark; Trace elements; Urban environment