Use of tree bark for comparing environmental pollution in different sites from Buenos Aires and Montevideo

Abstract

Multi-elemental profiles in bark of green ash trees collected in three representative areas of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay, were assessed as potential air pollution indicators. Ten elements: Al, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, were measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emissions spectrometry from 70 samples collected in different environments: central, residential and rural (reference site), in order to compare spatial patterns of metal concentration. The samples used as a control were collected from a nature reserve situated far away from any significant influences, not even a nearby road. The reference site (RF) exhibited the lowest concentrations of Al, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn. However, Ba and Mn showed similar concentrations in all measured sites. Magnesium is the only element that had a greater concentration in RF than at the other sites. Copper did not show any clear pattern. The Centre of Montevideo (MVD) showed higher concentrations of Al, Ba, Cr, Fe, Pb and Zn than the Centre of Buenos Aires (BA). In the A sectors, Montevideo (SAMVD) showed higher concentrations of Al, Cu, Mg, Ni, and Zn and lower concentrations of Ba, Cr, Fe, Mn, and Pb than Buenos Aires (SABA). In the B sectors, Montevideo (SBMVD) showed higher concentrations of Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn and lower concentrations of Cr and Mg than Buenos Aires (SBBA), but similar concentrations of Mn and Ni. The use of bark for biomonitoring metals allowed us to detect concentration differences related to the urban fabric and the different kinds of vehicles and their fuels. In the cities, the differences in metal concentrations detected in bark were more striking between the sectors than between centers, despite CBA being much larger than CMVD in population, extension and vehicular traffic.

Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Selected Organs of Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and their Potential Use as Air Contamination Bioindicators

“…The highest concentration of Pb in the bark of R. pseudoacacia was observed in plants growing in countryside areas (category LR) and did not vary significantly from the concentration of Pb in the bark in urban areas (categories IH and IL), in which R. pseudoacacia was exposed to industrial and traffic contamination. Similar concentrations of this metal in the bark of Fraxinus pensylvanica were found by Fujiwara et al [47] in Buenos Aires as well as by Faggi et al [69] in Montevideo, both in heavily trafficked areas. Slightly lower concentrations of Pb than those provided for both South American cities were observed by Samecka-Cymerman et al [32] for R. pseudoacacia in the town of Oleśnica.…”

UHPLC-(+)APCI-MS/MS determination of oxygenated and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in airborne particulate matter and tree barks collected in Buenos Aires city

“…During more than ten years, our group has conducted a series of studies aimed at determination, fractionation, and source identification of metals, metalloids, and ions in airborne particulate matter and related environmental matrices such as tree barks, road dust, and ashes [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. In the framework of a new project, our interest in now focused on the contribution with information on the content of OPAHs and NPAHs in the…”

Use of geochemical signatures, including rare earth elements, in mosses and lichens to assess spatial integration and the influence of forest environment

“…Since we sampled corticulous lichens, transfer from the soil cannot explain this enrichment. Tree barks are known to reflect TM atmospheric deposition and accumulate particulate deposition, including lithogenic minerals (Faggi et al, 2011;Gueguen et al, 2012). Transfer from barks or stemflow to lichens has been observed for major elements, but appears limited for trace elements (Prussia and Killingbeck, 1991;Sloof and Wolterbeek, 1993).…”