Lichen transplants as indicators of atmospheric element concentrations: a high spatial resolution comparison with PM10 samples in a polluted area (Central Italy)

Effectiveness of Different Sample Treatments for the Elemental Characterization of Bees and Beehive Products

“…Among different air pollution monitoring techniques, biomonitoring has recently become one of the most widely used technique, due to its ease of operation, low cost, efficiency and specificity [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. In fact, several living organisms, known as biomonitors, can accumulate toxic elements, allowing the monitoring of pollutants concentrations in the environment for integrated measurements over time [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. The use of apis mellifera and beehive products for biomonitoring studies has been widely investigated [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ] and reviewed [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Innovative Characterization of Particulate Matter Deposited on Urban Vegetation Leaves through the Application of a Chemical Fractionation Procedure

“…Based on the factor coordinates ( Figure 6 a), clear correlations exist among elemental concentrations per unit leaf area, such as: water-soluble Cd and insoluble Ni (positive PC1 values); water-soluble Ba, Cs, Rb, SO 4 2− and PO 4 3− (negative PC1 values); water-soluble Mo, insoluble Fe and Cr together with NO 3 2− (positive PC2 values); insoluble Cu and Zn (negative PC2 values). These elemental clusters can be considered as representative of the different PM emission sources present in Terni: water-soluble Mo and insoluble concentrations of Cr, Fe and Ni, were associated to the emission impact of the steel plant [ 46 , 49 ], since these elements are used as chemical components in the stainless-steel production to increase its ductility, strength and toughness [ 63 ]; water-soluble Cs and Rb and ionic species such as SO 4 2− and PO 4 3− could be related to the influence of biomass burning [ 47 , 64 ]; and finally, insoluble Cu and Zn are known to be elemental tracers related to the impact of mechanical and abrasive processes connected to vehicular traffic, being component of brakes and other vehicle parts [ 65 , 66 , 67 ]. However, the identification of the main emission sources is only slightly reflected in the case discrimination ( Figure 6 b): most of the tree species (eight over twelve) are clustered together in the positive PC1 region, without differentiation in PC2.…”

“…Naples is a densely populated city characterized by typical urban emission sources such as heavy load of vehicular traffic and domestic heating but also by major industrial plants within the urban area [ 44 ]. A second set of leaves was collected in Terni, an urban and industrial hot-spot of Central Italy [ 27 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. In addition to typical PM urban emission sources, such as vehicular traffic and domestic heating, Terni is characterized by the presence of a wide steel plant in the East of the city and an incinerator in the West [ 48 ].…”

Evaluation of the Efficiency of Arundo donax L. Leaves as Biomonitors for Atmospheric Element Concentrations in an Urban and Industrial Area of Central Italy

“…The localization and the geographical coordinates of the 23 PM 10 sampling sites as well as the characteristics of the used HSRS are deeply described in Massimi et al 2017 andMassimi et al 2019 [11,31]. The collected monthly PM 10 membrane filters were subjected to a chemical fractionation procedure, previously optimized and validated [37,38], useful for separating the water-soluble and insoluble fraction of each PM 10 elemental component, thus increasing its selectivity as a source tracer [11,39,40]. Firstly, after removing the supporting polymethylpentene ring from each membrane filter, PM 10 filters were extracted in 10 mL of deionized water for 30 min at 25 • C by using an ultrasonic bath (Proclean 10.0 ultrasonic cleaner, Ulsonix, Germany) and were then filtered on cellulose nitrate filters (0.45 µm pore size, Merck Millipore Ltd., Billerica, MA, USA).…”

“…Correlations between SD results and PM 10 element concentrations were much lower for all the other analyzed elements and tracers of other PM sources with emissions lower than that of the steel plant. For example, correlations were poor for water-soluble Cd, Cs, Rb, and Tl, which have been identified as reliable tracers for biomass burning in the Terni basin [56,57] and as weak for insoluble Cu and Sn, which are well known as rail network and vehicular traffic tracers [11,31,58,59]. SD of atmospheric elements can be then considered reliable only for the evaluation of the impact of strong PM sources (steel plant and vehicular traffic).…”