Potential Uptake of Heavy Metals by Some Tree and Shrub Species Used in Shahrekord Landscape

Biomonitoring is a simple and inexpensive method for assessment of the quality of the environment. Vehicle emissions introduce high levels of heavy metals into the atmosphere. The use of plant species can be effective in assessing and decreasing air pollution and the levels of heavy metals. This research was conducted to select the best accumulator of lead, zinc and cadmium in the leaves of four tree species, namely Thuja Orientalis, Ulmus umbraculifera, Fraxinus Rotundifolia and Ligustrum Ovalifolium,in four areas in the city of Shahrekord, Iran, with different traffic levels.

For this purpose, testing was conducted in areas with high levels of traffic (Kashani Street, Saadi Street and Shahrekord Terminal) as polluted areas, and Shahrekord University served as control area. In two periods, at the end of spring and the end of summer, leaves were sampled.

Results showed that heavy metal levels in one polluted area, Kashani Street, were higher than in other areas. Also, the highest level of lead and zinc accumulation was observed in the leaves of Ligustrum Ovalifolium with levels of 5.47 and 32.68 mg/kg. The highest level of cadmium, 1.84 mg/kg, was observed in the leaves of Thuja Orientalis.

according to the results,Ligustrum Ovalifolium, Thuja Orientalis, Ulmus Umbraculifera and Fraxinus Rotundifolia were introduced as the best wood species for accumulating heavy metals.