Assessment of the urban trees health status on the base of nutrient and pigment content in their leaves
Loading...
Date
2014-02-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Plovdiv University Press “Paisii Hilendarski”
Abstract
Town settlements have different load level by emissions originated mostly from transport, industry and heating system. Their environmental and climate conditions are more or less changed that effect to growth, physiology and vigor of woody plants at the city public vegetation areas. Our study on determining the impact of urban environment on the tree health status was focused on the quantities of nutrients and main components of the pigment complex – chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids. Leaves of Acer platanoides L., Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Betula pendula Roth. were sampled from urban areas with different type of anthropogenic pressure in the town of Plovdiv (Bulgaria). Concentrations of the elements Ca, K, Mg, N, Na, P, and S were analyzed by ICP-MS. Health condition of trees in the city parks and suburban areas was acceptable, but in the central part and close to the industrial area it was non-satisfactory. This preliminary research pointed ecophysiological tools as useful to develop new criteria for sustainable urban arboriculture, including species selection (based on stress tolerance criteria), nursery hardening and preconditioning, and care after planting.
Description
Keywords
Acer platanoides, Aesculus hippocastanum, Betula pendula, health status, urban vegetation, biomonitoring