Pine (Pinus Eldarica Medw.) needles as indicator for heavy metals pollution

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In this study, the pine tree (Pinus Eldarica Medw.) needles were evaluated as the biomonitors of heavy metal contamination in Tehran, Iran. The pine needle samples supplied from the old trees according to the main wind direction (highest wind speed) were obtained from each parts of tree and then were homogeneously mixed. The samples were taken from different locations with different degrees of metal pollution (urban, industrial, highway and control sites). Then, the concentrations of lead, zinc, copper, nickel and chromium were measured using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The result of this study showed that the highest and the lowest metal concentrations were found in the heavy traffic sites and the control site, respectively. However, samples taken from highway sites contained the high concentrations of nickel, copper and lead. Moreover, industrial areas were found to have high contents of zinc and chromium. The variation in heavy metal concentrations between the studied locations is due to changes in traffic density and anthropogenic activities. This research proved significant correlations between the heavy metal concentrations in pine needle samples. Finally, it is concluded that Pinus Eldarica Medw. needles can be applied to monitor polluted sites.

Assessment of Airborne Heavy Metal Pollution Using Pinus spp. and Tilia spp.

“…Having in mind the low mobility of Pb (low translocation to the aerial parts), and concerning the observed pattern of their content in leaf/needle and branch, it can be concluded that Pb arises from airborne emissions. Compared to the mean values reported in the literature (Yilmaz and Zengin, 2004;Al-Alawi and Mandiwana, 2007;Sun et al, 2009;Kord et al, 2010;Sun et al, 2010;Dmuchowski et al, 2011), concentrations of Pb in pine needles from our study area are higher. Similar or slightly lower Pb concentrations in linden leaves predominantly from traffic related sites were also reported by Piczak et al (2003), Tomašević et al (2004) and Aničić et al (2011).…”

“…It has been confirmed that both species are able to accumulate Cu, since no noticeable visual symptoms were observed (Rossini Oliva and Mingorance, 2004). The obtained copper concentrations in pine needles were higher than in the other industrial and urban areas (Yilmaz and Zengin, 2004;Al-Alawi and Mandiwana, 2007;Sun et al, 2009;Kord et al, 2010;Sun et al, 2010). The linden leaves sampled in Bor and the surroundings, have higher Cu content than the values reported by Piczak et al (2003), Tomašević et al (2004), Tomašević et al (2011) and Aničić et al (2011).…”

Determination of Some Heavy Metals Levels in Funaria Hygrometrica in Dutsinma Town of Katsina State, Nigeria

“…The high concentration of Fe in moss plant has been attributed to the high polyuronic acid content of its cell wall (Batagarawa, 2000) besides the relative abundance of the metal in the earth's crust. Significant concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni from the samples of moss plant obtained from DKtH, DKkH and DMA can be attributed to industrial and automobile emissions (Kord et al, 2010;Viard et al, 2004). Relatively low concentrations of metals were reflected by the samples obtained from the College of Education campus (CEC) Figs.…”

Assessment of cadmium, zinc and lead contamination in leaf and root of four various species

“…Their study identified industry as a potential source of trace metal contamination in water, and concluded that the environment pent-up is needed for policy intervention in industrial waste management. Kord et al (2010) reported that the highest and the lowest metal concentrations were found in the heavy traffic sites and the control site, respectively. However, samples taken from highway sites contained high concentrations of nickel, copper and lead.…”