Spatial Distribution of ¹⁴C in Tree Leaves from Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

The increase of fossil-fuel-derived CO2 in the atmosphere has led to the dilution of the atmospheric radiocarbon concentration, but due to the costly instrumentation, the continuous atmospheric 14C/12C data is incomplete in developing countries, such as in Indonesia. These data give useful information about the level of local and regional fossil emissions. In this study, 14C AMS measurements of local vegetation and woody plant species samples have been used to estimate the rate of fossil-fuel-derived carbon in the plants, which fix the CO2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Evergreen leaf samples were collected in September 2018 on the island of Bali in different, diverse districts in local and urban areas. The samples from the densely populated areas show observable fossil fuel emissions and show that the Δ14C level is close to zero ‰, similar to the natural level.

Use of Leaves as Bioindicator to Assess Air Pollution Based on Composite Proxy Measure (APTI), Dust Amount and Elemental Concentration of Metals

“…Varga et al [ 19 ] studied the pollution sources using fossil carbon (i.e., 14 C) analysis of tree and grass leaves: urban sites are more exposed to traffic-related pollutants, while in the suburbs, the main source is wood burning (heating). The largest fossil carbon level was found at the crowded crossroads in a densely populated area [ 20 ].…”

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL FUEL CO2 IN MEGACITY DELHI DETERMINED USING RADIOCARBON MEASUREMENTS IN PEEPAL (FICUS RELIGIOSA) TREE LEAVES

“…14 C content is generally measured in air samples collected in flask (Turnbull et al 2006) and air bags (Niu et al 2016a) or over sodium hydroxide solution (Levin et al 2003; Turnbull et al 2017). Annual crop plants, grasses and tree leaves also provide a radiocarbon signal of their growing period because they absorb atmospheric CO 2 by photosynthesis processes (Hsueh et al 2007; Riley et al 2008; Bozhinova et al 2016; Niu et al 2016b; Varga et al 2020a). However, because crop plants are not found in cities, tree leaves and grasses are the best plant samples to study the spatial variation of CO 2ff across cities and urban areas (Riley et al 2008; Niu et al 2016b; Varga et al 2019, 2020a).…”

“…Annual crop plants, grasses and tree leaves also provide a radiocarbon signal of their growing period because they absorb atmospheric CO 2 by photosynthesis processes (Hsueh et al 2007; Riley et al 2008; Bozhinova et al 2016; Niu et al 2016b; Varga et al 2020a). However, because crop plants are not found in cities, tree leaves and grasses are the best plant samples to study the spatial variation of CO 2ff across cities and urban areas (Riley et al 2008; Niu et al 2016b; Varga et al 2019, 2020a). Several radiocarbon-based studies have been carried out in various cities and urban areas around the world to quantify CO 2ff contribution (Lichtfouse et al 2005; Riley et al 2008; Wang and Pataki 2010; Park et al 2013; Niu et al 2016b; Santos et al 2019; Varga et al 2020a; Zhou et al 2020).…”

“…However, because crop plants are not found in cities, tree leaves and grasses are the best plant samples to study the spatial variation of CO 2ff across cities and urban areas (Riley et al 2008; Niu et al 2016b; Varga et al 2019, 2020a). Several radiocarbon-based studies have been carried out in various cities and urban areas around the world to quantify CO 2ff contribution (Lichtfouse et al 2005; Riley et al 2008; Wang and Pataki 2010; Park et al 2013; Niu et al 2016b; Santos et al 2019; Varga et al 2020a; Zhou et al 2020).…”