On the link between biomagnetic monitoring and leaf-deposited dust load of urban trees: Relationships and spatial variability of different particle size fractions

Hofman, Jelle; Wuyts, Karen; Van Wittenberghe, Shari; Brackx, Melanka; Samson, Roeland

On the link between biomagnetic monitoring and leaf-deposited dust load of urban trees: Relationships and spatial variability of different particle size fractions

2014

Hofman, Jelle | Wuyts, Karen | Van Wittenberghe, Shari | Brackx, Melanka | Samson, Roeland

Biomagnetic monitoring of urban tree leaves has proven to be a good estimator of ambient particulate matter. We evaluated its relevancy by determining leaf area normalised weight (mg m−2) and SIRM (A) of leaf-deposited particles within three different size fractions (>10 μm, 3–10 μm and 0.2–3 μm) and the SIRM of the leaf-encapsulated particles. Results showed that throughout the in-leaf season, the trees accumulated on average 747 mg m−2 of dust on their leaves, of which 74 mg m−2 was within the 0.2–10 μm (∼PM10) size range and 40 mg m−2 within the 0.2–3 μm (∼PM3) size range. A significant correlation between the SIRM and weight of the surface-deposited particles confirms the potential of biomagnetic monitoring as a proxy for the amount of leaf-deposited particles. Spatial variation of both SIRM and weight throughout the street canyon suggests traffic and wind as key factors for respectively the source and distribution of urban particulates.

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