Ficus retusa L. as possible indicator of air metallic pollution in urban environmentSahli Leila, Belhiouani Hadjer

Abstract

The tree species differed by their capacity to capture air-borne dust and to allocate trace element from contaminated soil. The aim of this study was to explore the accumulation potential of heavy metals (HMs) by F. retusa L. and its possible use for air pollution biomonitoring in urban areas. Plant material was sampled along the national roads in Constantine city (NE-Algeria), characterized by an intense traffic load. The concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc were determined in the washed and unwashed leaves. The mean concentrations of HMs decrease in the following order: Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd for both studied leaves, and were about 0.68 and 0.98 µg/g for Cd, 7.26 and 8.74 µg/g for Cu, 20.35 and 37.61 µg/g for Pb and 63.33 µg/g and 75.94 µg/g for Zn, for washed/unwashed leaves respectively. The studied metal contents were significantly higher than those cited in the literature; this indicates the traffic road impact on HMs emissions and uptake by plants. Higher values of metal accumulation index (MAI) indicate the effectiveness of the studied species for monitoring air metallic pollution in urban areas, and its usefulness for phytoextraction of HMs from the polluted soils and/or air. Results of this study could be beneficial as preliminary reference values for HMs uptake by F. retusa in urban environments.