Species specificity of woody trees adaptation at technogenically transformed urbanhabitats of the Kyiv megalopolisis

Abstract

The recent ecological situation of Kyiv megalopolis has a special specific of environment technogenic pollution as a chemical features and content of polluting phytotoxicants. During 2007–2012, our observation revealed what the most dangerous factors which have harm impact on the street woody plants are the huge concentration of phytotoxic elements (Na+, Cl-, Pb2+, Cd2+). Nowadays, the technogenic impact on the megalopolyisis surrounding comes to the dangerous, even, catastrophic level. The main reason of total and chloral necrose of leaves, the summer defoliation of crown and major tree's death is the over pollution of the soil and plant's phytomass by phytotoxic elements, the concentration of which by standards evaluation and by trees reactions are critical and exists at the level of adaptation possibility and survival. The main sources of Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions are transport outcomes (> 90 % of total technogenic pollution). The increasing of Pb2+ and Cd2+ in the soil is depended from intensivity of transport outcomes, using of ethylated petrol, and location of trees along roads as well as from the trees species. Continuously increasing of number of cars at the city streets is accompanying with similar increasing of ions concentration. Thus, in the soil around root system of street woody plants, depending from their location along roads, the concentration of Pb2+ (moving form) is between 41,7 (I. Kudri str.) and 102,6 mg\kg of soil (Nauki avenue). It exceeds the maximum permissible concentration (MPC), which is 20,8–51,3 mg\kg of soil. Next, for Norway maple (Acer platanoides) the concentration of Pb2+ in the soil varies from 41,7 to 80,5 mg / kg of soil in the area of the root system and it is around 20,8–40,2 MPC. In the leaves of this tree it is 7,83–13,5 mg / kg of dry mass (MPC is 15,8–27,0). For the horse chestnut (Aedculus hippocastanum) at the Nauka avenue, the concentration of plumbum in the root is 13,4 mg / kg (MPC is 26,8), in the cortex – 17,7 mg / kg (MPC is 35,4), in leaves – 8,21 mg / kg (MPC is 16,4), which by the normative evaluation are the critical concentrations. The source of Na+ and Cl-, which is a new factor for Kyiv megalopolis, is irregular load of high concentrations of industrial salt NaCl into the environment, as a way against black ice in winter time, where the Na+ ions ( mobile form) is in the high concentrations in leaves (0,76 % for Norway maple (Acer platanoides) on the I. Kudri str., 1,28 % – small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata) at the 40-richya Zhovtnya ave, 2,0 % – horse chestnut (Aedculus hippocastanum) at the Nauki ave), those are exceeded the concentration of the element comparing to the control test object, respectively, in 10,6, 12,8 and 5,0 times. Na+ ions are an aggressive phytotoxins and the main factor of leaves necrose of tree crown (within 70–100 % necrosis leaves in the crown). Degradation and total reduction of the specific weight of plants in the megalopolis environment are decrease the cleaning role of the street tree plants, which are the main alive filters for soil and air cleaning, as well as the main bioaccumulators and detoxicants of harm substances of anthropogenic pollution. Species adaptive specificity is revealed at the bioaccumulation level and the selective locality of phytotoxic elements (Na+, Cl-, Pb2+, Cd2+, agile form) in technourbanhabitats-pic conditions, there dominated bioaccumulation and localization of Na+ ions by trees assimilative system is caused the adaptive orientation of endogenic and intraspecific variability of phytoindicative morphophysiologic features of plants functional condition under the stressing factors. This also is defined the sensitivity of small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata Mill.), norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) and horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) to the big concentration of potassium as the most danger one for the plant survival. The biggest accumulation of Na+ ions at the roots of Lombardy poplar (Populus pyramidalis Roz.), Bolle's poplar (Populus bolleana Lauche) and sugar maple (Acer saccharinum L.) is lead to a higher resistance of their assimilation system. At the technourbohabitate-pic conditions, the level of realization of ontogenetic and phylogenetic adaptive capacity of the sensitive species of trees is harmfully low (21,3–44,3 %). It is at the level of survival/death of plants. The street Lombardy poplar, Bolle's poplar and sugar maple, despite of more higher level of their adaptation (68,4–87,7 %), still also can't fully adapt to the critical levels of technogenic pollution of megalopolis environment.

Urban trees assimilation efficiency and assessment of environment quality

“…At the same time, this surrounding environment of trees and bushes affects the living condition of the plants in different ways, sometimes negatively. It limits their productive potential and ameliorative role (Kramer & Kozlovski, 1983;Treshou, 1988;Lutsyshyn & Teslenko, 2015;Livesley et al, 2016;Vishchur et al, 2019).…”

“…In this regard, an adequate control that is based on a simple diagnosis of the functional state of woody plants, an assessment of plants efficiency on stabilization of state of the natural or industrial environment by bioindication criteria are important scientific and practical problems of today (Girs, 1982;Schubert, 1988). Most studies of the impact of the current environment on vegetation plantings have been conducted in cities of other large industrial regions (Treshou, 1988;Korshikov, 1996;Lutsyshyn & Teslenko, 2015;Korshykov et al, 2018). There woody plants undergo significant visible or lethal damage from an excessive pollution.…”