Surfactant damages on coastal vegetation in southern Italy

Abstract

Surfactant damages on coastal vegetation of Southern Italy.Coastal vegetation decline caused by seaspray has been reported to affect a variety of species in several countries: Australia, South of France, along the Italian Tyrrhenian coast, Spain and Tunisia. The most serious injury is due to the interaction between sea salt and surfactants, even if surfactants may cause direct damage on cell membranes. The salt uptake is enhanced by the durfactant-induced erosion of the epicuticular wax, which reduces the water surface tension. The symptoms are non-specific and consist in leaf discoloration and necrosis. In needles, necrosis begins from the apex; in leaves, from the edges. Directionality of crown damage is the main symptom for diagnosing the involvement of polluted seaspray. If an obstacle is placed between trees and sea wind, the trees do not show appreciable damage. In Italy, the tree decline caused by seaspray and surfactants has been investigated with special reference to the pinewoods of the San Rossore (Tuscany, Central Italy), or on the Tyrrhenian coastlands of Central Italy, such as the area around Castelporziano in Lazio. This research is aimed at a preliminary assessment of the extent of surfactant damage to the coastal vegetation in four regions in Southern Italy by: i) field surveys and mapping of damage caused by surfactants; ii) detecting the presence of surfactants on the tree crowns. The damages have been observed in a lot of zones in Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Calabria, within 500 m inland from the sea, for a maximum length of 5500 m coastline, near the mouth of a river or stream, near the outlet of sewage canals and in any other coastal areas where the surface currents carry a surfactant load.