A 25-year Monitoring of the Air Pollution Depicted by Plane Tree Species in Tehran
Tehran, one of the heavily-populated capitals, is
severely suffering from increasing air pollution. To show a
documented trend of such pollutants during last years, plane tree
species (Platanus orientalis) were suited to be studied as indicators,
for the species have been planted throughout the city many years
ago. Two areas (Saadatabad and Narmak districts) allotting different
contents of crowed and highly-traffic routs but the same ecological
characteristics were selected. Twelve sample individuals were cored
twice perpendicularly in each area. Tree-rings of each core were
measured by a binocular microscope and separated annually for the
last 25 years. Two heavy metals including Cd and Pb accompanied
by a mineral element (Ca) were analyzed using Hatch method. Treerings
analysis of the two areas showed different groups in term of
physiologically ability as the growths were plunged during the last
10 years in Saadatabad district and showed a slight decrease in the
same period for another studying area. In direct contrast to
decreasing growth trend in Saadatabad, all three mentioned elements
increased sharply during last 25 years in the same area. When it came
to Narmak district, the trend was completely different with
Saadatabad. There were some fluctuations in absorbing trace
elements like tree-rings widths were, yet calcium showed an upward
trend all the last 25 years. The results of the study proved the
possibility of using tree species of each region to monitor its air
pollution trends of the past, hence to depict a pollution assessment of
a populated city for last years and then to make appropriate decisions
for the future as it is well-known what the trend is. On the other
hand, risen values of calcium (as the stress-indicator element)
accompanied by increased trace elements suggests non-sustainable
state of the trees.
[1] A. Andersson, and S. Bingefors, "Trends and annual variations in Cd
concentration in grain of winter wheat," Acta Agriculture Scandinavia,
vol. 35, pp. 339-344, 1985.
[2] V. Balodis, G. Brū melis, K. Kalviš kis, O. Nikodemus, D. Tjarve, and
V. Znotiaņa, "Does the Skrunda radi location station diminish the radial
growth of pine trees?" Science of the Total Environment, vol. 180, no. 1-
2, pp. 57-64, 1999.
[3] S. Bernal-Salazar, T. Terrazas, and D. Alvarado, "Impact of air pollution
on ring width and tracheid dimensions in Abies Religiosa in the Mexico
City basin," IAWA Journal, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 205-214, 2004.
[4] C. V. Cogbill, "The effect of acid precipitation on tree growth in Eastern
North America", Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, vol. 8, pp. 89-93, 1977.
[5] L. E Cullen, J. G. Palmer, R. P. Duncan, and G. H. Stewart, "Climate
change and tree-ring relationships of Nothofagus menziesii tree-line
forests," Canadian Journal of Forest Research, vol. 31 no. 11, pp. 1981-
1991, 2001.
[6] Y. Da-pao, G. Hui-yan, W. Jian-dong, W. Qing-li, and D. Li-min,
"Relationships of climate change and tree ring of Betula ermanii tree
line forest in Changbai Mountain," Journal of Forestry Research, vol.
16 no. 3, pp. 187-192, 2005.
[7] S. C. Díaz, R. Touchan, and T. W. Swetnam, "A tree-ring reconstruction
of past precipitation for Baja California Sur, Mexico," International
Journal of Climatology vol. 21, pp. 1007-1019, 2001.
[8] A. M. García-Suárez, C. J. Butler, and M. Baillie, "Climate signal in
tree-ring chronologies in a temperate climate: a multi-species approach,"
Dendrochronologia, vol. 27 no. 3, pp. 183-198, 2009.
[9] S. T. Gray, C. L. Fastie, S. T. Jackson, and J. L. Betancourt, "Tree-ringbased
reconstruction of precipitation in the Bighorn basin, Wyoming,
since 1260 A.D," Journal of Climate, vol. 17, pp. 3855-3865, 2004.
[10] G. C. Jacoby, D. E. Bunker, and B. E. Benson, "Tree-ring evidence for
an A.D. 1700 Cascadia earthquake in Washington and northern Oregon,"
Geology, vol. 25 no. 11, pp. 999-1002, 1997.
[11] A. Kagawa, T. Aoki, N. Okada, and Y. Katayama, "Tree-ring Strontium-
90 and Cesium-137 as potential indicators of radioactive pollution,"
Journal of Environmental Quality, vol. 31, pp. 2001-2007, 2002.
[12] N. Khorasani, "Air pollution effects on annual tree ring growth of plane
trees in Tehran," Journal of Iranian Natural Resources, vol. 46, pp. 51-
62, 1993.
[13] Y. W. Kuang, F. F. Sun, D. Zh. Wen, G. Y. Zhou, and P Zhao, "Treering
growth patterns of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana L.) during the
recent decades in the acidification Pearl River Delta of China," Forest
Ecology and Management, vol. 255, no. 8-9, pp. 3534-3540, 2008.
[14] N. Liu, C. Peng, Z. Lin, G. Lin, and X. Pan, "Effects of simulated so2
pollution on subtropical forest succession": Toward chlorophyll
fluorescence concept. Pak. J. Bot., vol. 39 no. 6, pp. 1921-1935, 2007.
[15] D.J. Nowak, "Trees pollute? A "TREE" explains it all". In: Proceedings
of the 7th National Urban Forestry Conference. American Forests.
Washington, DC. pp. 28-30, 1995.
[16] A. Pantera, A. M. Papadopoulos, and M. Orfanoudakis, "Trace element
accumulation in tree rings of pinus halepensis during the late last 140
years," Global NEST Journal, vol. 9 no. 3, pp. 286-292, 2007.
[17] C. Pearson, S. W. Manning, M. Coleman, and K. Jarvis, "Can tree-ring
chemistry reveal absolute dates for past volcanic eruptions?" Journal of
Archaeological Science, vol. 32, pp. 1265-1274, 2005.
[18] M. M. Savard, C. Bégin, J. Marion, and A. Smirnoff, "Pollution and
climate effects on tree-ring nitrogen isotopes," Geophysical Research
Abstracts, 11, EGU2009-6157, 2009.
[19] G. T. Shi, Z. L. Chen, and H. W. Li, "Present and future study on heavy
metal contaminations in urban soil" (in Chinese), Administration
Technique Environ Moint, vol. 18 no. 6, pp. 9-12, 2006.
[20] Th. W. Swetnam, "Fire and climate history in the Western Americas
from tree rings," PAGES News vol. 10 no. 1,
http://tree.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/PAGES-TWS.pdf.
[21] A. E. S. Vives, R. M. C. Silva, J. G. da S. Medeiros, M. Tomazello
Filho, R. C. Barroso, O. L. A. D. Zucchi, and S. Moreira, "Accumulation
of elements in annual tree rings measured by synchrotron X-ray
fluorescence analysis," X-Ray Spectrometry, vol. 34, pp. 411-416, 2005.
[22] D. K. Yamaguchi, B. F. Atwater, D. E. Bunker, B. E. Benson, and M. S.
Reid, "Tree-ring rating the 1700 Cascadia earthquake," Nature, vol. 389,
pp. 922-923, 1997.
[23] L. Yu, T. WeiYuan, B. Tingyi, Y. ZengYue, S. HuiMing, L. Na, W.
WeiPing, Z. HongYi, Z. Wei, and A. ZhiSheng, "Trace elements in tree
rings and their environmental effects: A case study in Xi' an City,"
Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, vol. 52 no. 4, pp. 504-510,
2009.
[1] A. Andersson, and S. Bingefors, "Trends and annual variations in Cd
concentration in grain of winter wheat," Acta Agriculture Scandinavia,
vol. 35, pp. 339-344, 1985.
[2] V. Balodis, G. Brū melis, K. Kalviš kis, O. Nikodemus, D. Tjarve, and
V. Znotiaņa, "Does the Skrunda radi location station diminish the radial
growth of pine trees?" Science of the Total Environment, vol. 180, no. 1-
2, pp. 57-64, 1999.
[3] S. Bernal-Salazar, T. Terrazas, and D. Alvarado, "Impact of air pollution
on ring width and tracheid dimensions in Abies Religiosa in the Mexico
City basin," IAWA Journal, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 205-214, 2004.
[4] C. V. Cogbill, "The effect of acid precipitation on tree growth in Eastern
North America", Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, vol. 8, pp. 89-93, 1977.
[5] L. E Cullen, J. G. Palmer, R. P. Duncan, and G. H. Stewart, "Climate
change and tree-ring relationships of Nothofagus menziesii tree-line
forests," Canadian Journal of Forest Research, vol. 31 no. 11, pp. 1981-
1991, 2001.
[6] Y. Da-pao, G. Hui-yan, W. Jian-dong, W. Qing-li, and D. Li-min,
"Relationships of climate change and tree ring of Betula ermanii tree
line forest in Changbai Mountain," Journal of Forestry Research, vol.
16 no. 3, pp. 187-192, 2005.
[7] S. C. Díaz, R. Touchan, and T. W. Swetnam, "A tree-ring reconstruction
of past precipitation for Baja California Sur, Mexico," International
Journal of Climatology vol. 21, pp. 1007-1019, 2001.
[8] A. M. García-Suárez, C. J. Butler, and M. Baillie, "Climate signal in
tree-ring chronologies in a temperate climate: a multi-species approach,"
Dendrochronologia, vol. 27 no. 3, pp. 183-198, 2009.
[9] S. T. Gray, C. L. Fastie, S. T. Jackson, and J. L. Betancourt, "Tree-ringbased
reconstruction of precipitation in the Bighorn basin, Wyoming,
since 1260 A.D," Journal of Climate, vol. 17, pp. 3855-3865, 2004.
[10] G. C. Jacoby, D. E. Bunker, and B. E. Benson, "Tree-ring evidence for
an A.D. 1700 Cascadia earthquake in Washington and northern Oregon,"
Geology, vol. 25 no. 11, pp. 999-1002, 1997.
[11] A. Kagawa, T. Aoki, N. Okada, and Y. Katayama, "Tree-ring Strontium-
90 and Cesium-137 as potential indicators of radioactive pollution,"
Journal of Environmental Quality, vol. 31, pp. 2001-2007, 2002.
[12] N. Khorasani, "Air pollution effects on annual tree ring growth of plane
trees in Tehran," Journal of Iranian Natural Resources, vol. 46, pp. 51-
62, 1993.
[13] Y. W. Kuang, F. F. Sun, D. Zh. Wen, G. Y. Zhou, and P Zhao, "Treering
growth patterns of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana L.) during the
recent decades in the acidification Pearl River Delta of China," Forest
Ecology and Management, vol. 255, no. 8-9, pp. 3534-3540, 2008.
[14] N. Liu, C. Peng, Z. Lin, G. Lin, and X. Pan, "Effects of simulated so2
pollution on subtropical forest succession": Toward chlorophyll
fluorescence concept. Pak. J. Bot., vol. 39 no. 6, pp. 1921-1935, 2007.
[15] D.J. Nowak, "Trees pollute? A "TREE" explains it all". In: Proceedings
of the 7th National Urban Forestry Conference. American Forests.
Washington, DC. pp. 28-30, 1995.
[16] A. Pantera, A. M. Papadopoulos, and M. Orfanoudakis, "Trace element
accumulation in tree rings of pinus halepensis during the late last 140
years," Global NEST Journal, vol. 9 no. 3, pp. 286-292, 2007.
[17] C. Pearson, S. W. Manning, M. Coleman, and K. Jarvis, "Can tree-ring
chemistry reveal absolute dates for past volcanic eruptions?" Journal of
Archaeological Science, vol. 32, pp. 1265-1274, 2005.
[18] M. M. Savard, C. Bégin, J. Marion, and A. Smirnoff, "Pollution and
climate effects on tree-ring nitrogen isotopes," Geophysical Research
Abstracts, 11, EGU2009-6157, 2009.
[19] G. T. Shi, Z. L. Chen, and H. W. Li, "Present and future study on heavy
metal contaminations in urban soil" (in Chinese), Administration
Technique Environ Moint, vol. 18 no. 6, pp. 9-12, 2006.
[20] Th. W. Swetnam, "Fire and climate history in the Western Americas
from tree rings," PAGES News vol. 10 no. 1,
http://tree.ltrr.arizona.edu/~tswetnam/tws-pdf/PAGES-TWS.pdf.
[21] A. E. S. Vives, R. M. C. Silva, J. G. da S. Medeiros, M. Tomazello
Filho, R. C. Barroso, O. L. A. D. Zucchi, and S. Moreira, "Accumulation
of elements in annual tree rings measured by synchrotron X-ray
fluorescence analysis," X-Ray Spectrometry, vol. 34, pp. 411-416, 2005.
[22] D. K. Yamaguchi, B. F. Atwater, D. E. Bunker, B. E. Benson, and M. S.
Reid, "Tree-ring rating the 1700 Cascadia earthquake," Nature, vol. 389,
pp. 922-923, 1997.
[23] L. Yu, T. WeiYuan, B. Tingyi, Y. ZengYue, S. HuiMing, L. Na, W.
WeiPing, Z. HongYi, Z. Wei, and A. ZhiSheng, "Trace elements in tree
rings and their environmental effects: A case study in Xi' an City,"
Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, vol. 52 no. 4, pp. 504-510,
2009.
@article{"International Journal of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences:62948", author = "S. A. A. Korori and H. Valipour K. and S. Shabestani and A. shirvany and M. Matinizadeh", title = "A 25-year Monitoring of the Air Pollution Depicted by Plane Tree Species in Tehran", abstract = "Tehran, one of the heavily-populated capitals, is
severely suffering from increasing air pollution. To show a
documented trend of such pollutants during last years, plane tree
species (Platanus orientalis) were suited to be studied as indicators,
for the species have been planted throughout the city many years
ago. Two areas (Saadatabad and Narmak districts) allotting different
contents of crowed and highly-traffic routs but the same ecological
characteristics were selected. Twelve sample individuals were cored
twice perpendicularly in each area. Tree-rings of each core were
measured by a binocular microscope and separated annually for the
last 25 years. Two heavy metals including Cd and Pb accompanied
by a mineral element (Ca) were analyzed using Hatch method. Treerings
analysis of the two areas showed different groups in term of
physiologically ability as the growths were plunged during the last
10 years in Saadatabad district and showed a slight decrease in the
same period for another studying area. In direct contrast to
decreasing growth trend in Saadatabad, all three mentioned elements
increased sharply during last 25 years in the same area. When it came
to Narmak district, the trend was completely different with
Saadatabad. There were some fluctuations in absorbing trace
elements like tree-rings widths were, yet calcium showed an upward
trend all the last 25 years. The results of the study proved the
possibility of using tree species of each region to monitor its air
pollution trends of the past, hence to depict a pollution assessment of
a populated city for last years and then to make appropriate decisions
for the future as it is well-known what the trend is. On the other
hand, risen values of calcium (as the stress-indicator element)
accompanied by increased trace elements suggests non-sustainable
state of the trees.", keywords = "Air pollution, Platanus orientalis, Tehran, Traceelements, Tree rings.", volume = "4", number = "9", pages = "428-4", }
