Morpho-Physio-Biochemical Attributes of Roadside Trees as Potential Tools for Biomonitoring of Air Quality and Environmental Health in Urban Areas

Ha Na You, Myeong Ja Kwak, Sun Mi Je, Jong Kyu Lee, Yea Ji Lim, Handong Kim, Sanghee Park, Su Gyeong Jeong, Yun Soo Choi and Su Young Woo
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Ha Na You: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Myeong Ja Kwak: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Sun Mi Je: Urban Forests Research Center, Forest Conservation Department, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, Korea
Jong Kyu Lee: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Yea Ji Lim: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Handong Kim: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Sanghee Park: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Su Gyeong Jeong: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Yun Soo Choi: Department of Geoinformatics, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
Su Young Woo: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Environmental pollution is an important issue in metropolitan areas, and roadside trees are directly affected by various sources of pollution to which they exhibit numerous responses. The aim of the present study was to identify morpho-physio-biochemical attributes of maidenhair tree ( Ginkgo biloba L.) and American sycamore ( Platanus occidentalis L.) growing under two different air quality conditions (roadside with high air pollution, RH and roadside with low air pollution, RL) and to assess the possibility of using their physiological and biochemical parameters as biomonitoring tools in urban areas. The results showed that the photosynthetic rate, photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiencies, and photochromic contents were generally low in RH in both G. biloba and P. occidentalis . However, water-use efficiency and leaf temperature showed high values in RH trees. Among biochemical parameters, in G. biloba , the lipid peroxide content was higher in RH than in RL trees, but in P. occidentalis , this content was lower in RH than in RL trees. In both species, physiological activities were low in trees planted in areas with high levels of air pollution, whereas their biochemical and morphological variables showed different responses to air pollution. Thus, we concluded that it is possible to determine species-specific physiological variables affected by regional differences of air pollution in urban areas, and these findings may be helpful for monitoring air quality and environmental health using trees.

Keywords: biomonitoring; morpho-physio-biochemical attributes; photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency; roadside trees; urban air pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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