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Pi W, Qu C, Ding Y, Li X, Liu A, Li W, De Vivo B, Fortelli A, Qi S, Albanese S. Cross-media transfer of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Naples metropolitan area, southern Italy. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 941:173695. [PMID: 38834099 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
At present, an in-depth knowledge of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the multimedia system of the urban environment remains limited. Taking the Naples metropolitan area (NMA) for instance, we simulated the cross-media transfer of PAHs using a multimedia urban model, involving air, water, soil, sediment, vegetation, and impervious film. The results indicated that the predicted PAH values in 2015 match well with their corresponding in-situ monitoring data. The PAH emission inventory and the simulated mass in various media all showed a downward trend from 2015 to 2020 due to national energy conservation policies and Corona Virus Disease 2019. The simulated mass of PAHs in the soil and sediment phases was 896.8 and 232.7 kg in 2020, respectively, contributing together to 96.7% of PAHs in the NMA. And they were identified as the greatest sinks for PAHs, and exhibited the longest retention duration, with values of PAH persistence reaching approximately 548.8 - 2,0642.3 hours. The results of transfer fluxes indicated that local emissions and atmospheric advection were the primary routes affecting the distribution of PAHs. The sensitivity analysis indicated that atmospheric advection rate was the most critical parameter for air, soil, vegetation, and film, whereas water concentration and sediment degradation rate were vital for water and sediment, respectively. This study offered valuable insights into how human activity contributes to the status and fate of PAHs in the urban environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Pi
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Chengkai Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
| | - Yang Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China; Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in Southwest, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
| | - Xiaoshui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Ao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Wenping Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Benedetto De Vivo
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi 435003, China; Pegaso On-Line University, Naples 80132, Italy
| | - Alberto Fortelli
- Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80125, Italy
| | - Shihua Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Stefano Albanese
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80125, Italy
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Abriha-Molnár VÉ, Szabó S, Magura T, Tóthmérész B, Abriha D, Sipos B, Simon E. Environmental impact assessment based on particulate matter, and chlorophyll content of urban trees. Sci Rep 2024; 14:19911. [PMID: 39198683 PMCID: PMC11358399 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-70664-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 08/20/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The amount of dust deposited on tree leaves is a cost-effective indicator of air quality. Our aim was to explore the leaf surface deposition, and chlorophyll content of leaves along a road section that started at an intersection, and ended in a less disturbed suburban area in Debrecen, Hungary. We also assessed the impact of meteorological conditions on the amount of deposited dust. Leaf samples were collected in July, and September 2022 from Celtis occidentalis, a frequent species in green urban areas of Debrecen. We found a significant negative correlation between dust deposition, and the distance from the intersection in July. In September, dust deposition decreased considerably compared to July, due to rainfall before the second sampling. Surprisingly, we found a positive correlation between dust deposition and chlorophyll content in July. Our findings suggest that dust deposition on leaves serves as a reliable indicator of traffic intensity, because the excess dust caused by the proximity of vehicle traffic can be detected on the leaf surface. Although, rainfall can disrupt the patterns in dust deposition that have developed over an extended period through wash-off and resuspension. Hence, it is advisable to consider these effects while selecting the sampling time and evaluating the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanda Éva Abriha-Molnár
- HUN-REN-UD Anthropocene Ecology Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary.
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary.
| | - Szilárd Szabó
- Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
| | - Tibor Magura
- HUN-REN-UD Anthropocene Ecology Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
| | - Béla Tóthmérész
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem square 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
| | - Dávid Abriha
- Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
| | - Bianka Sipos
- HUN-REN-UD Anthropocene Ecology Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
| | - Edina Simon
- HUN-REN-UD Anthropocene Ecology Research Group, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sq. 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
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Gaglio M, Pace R, Muresan AN, Grote R, Castaldelli G, Calfapietra C, Fano EA. Species-specific efficiency in PM 2.5 removal by urban trees: From leaf measurements to improved modeling estimates. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 844:157131. [PMID: 35798105 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The growing population in cities is causing a deterioration of air quality due to the emission of pollutants, causing serious health impacts. Trees and urban forests can contribute through the interception and removal of air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM). The dry deposition of PM by vegetation depends on air pollutant concentration, meteorological conditions, and specific leaf traits. Several studies explored the ability of different plant species to accumulate PM on leaf structures leading to the development of models to quantify the PM removal. The i-Tree Eco is the most used model to evaluate ecosystem services provided by urban trees. However, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) removal is still calculated with a poorly evaluated function of deposition velocity (which depends on wind speed and leaf area) without differentiating between tree species. Therefore, we present an improvement of the standard model calculation introducing a leaf trait index to distinguish the species effect on PM net removal. We also compared model results with measurements of deposited leaf PM by vacuum filtration. The index includes the effect of morphological and functional leaf characteristics of tree species using four parameters: leaf water storage, deposition velocity, resuspension rate and leaf washing capacity. Leaves of 11 common urban tree species were sampled in representative areas of the city of Ferrara (Italy) and at different times of the year from 2018 to 2021. This includes four deciduous broadleaf trees (Tilia cordata, Platanus acerifolia, Acer platanoides, Celtis australis), three evergreen broadleaf trees (Quercus ilex, Magnolia grandiflora, Nerium oleander), and four conifers (Thuja orientalis, Cedrus libani, Pinus pinaster, Picea abies). The results provide significant advancement in assessing PM removal using decision support tools such as models to properly select tree species for future urban tree planting programs aimed at improving air quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattias Gaglio
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Rocco Pace
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council (CNR), Via G. Marconi 2, 05010 Porano, TR, Italy; Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany.
| | - Alexandra Nicoleta Muresan
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Rüdiger Grote
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, Germany
| | - Giuseppe Castaldelli
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Carlo Calfapietra
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council (CNR), Via G. Marconi 2, 05010 Porano, TR, Italy
| | - Elisa Anna Fano
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 42, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
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Integrated Approach for Quality Assessment of Technosols in Experimental Mesocosms. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13169101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The assessment of Technosols quality in urban environments is pivotal for the maintenance of ecosystems impacted by human activities. The study was performed on Technosols constructed in experimental mesocosms in the suburban area of Naples (Southern Italy) to highlight changes in the main soil properties over eight years and to identify the most suitable indices at quality monitoring. In this study, several chemical, biological, and integrated indices were analysed to evaluate the mineral accumulation, potential ecological risk, edaphon activity, fertility, and the overall soil quality. The Technosols showed alkaline pH, nitrogen ranged from 24.5 to 39.5 g kg−1, high organic matter contents above 40 g kg−1, and there were no evident processes of soil compaction. Heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) did not exceed the thresholds defined by the Italian law for urban soils, despite their volcanic components. During eight years, the chemical indices depicted changes in the elements balance and increase in ecological risk; the biological indices indicated a reduction in the fungal fraction (fivefold) and in the resources utilisation and carbon storage. The soil quality index with all parameters highlighted the reduction in the soil quality (from 0.78 to 0.65) due to the decrease of the chemical quality, the increase of microbial stress conditions, and changes of the microbial composition, underlining the importance of integrating chemical and biological information for monitoring Technosols.
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Understanding Green Street Design: Evidence from Three Cases in the U.S. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13041916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
World cities need more green areas to promote social, economic, and environmental well-being; the problem, however, is that the space available for green infrastructure (GI) within the built environment is limited. Finding empty, free, or underutilized spaces within the built environment to be repurposed for GI has been a challenge. Streets are public, numerous, and evenly distributed, being a desirable place to fulfill this requirement. However, they are also heavily regulated public spaces, where design is standardized, and ruled by codes and manuals. Some cities in the US have implemented an increasing number of green streets (green infrastructures within the rights-of-way with environmental purposes), because of green stormwater management federal policies. This paper aims to understand the green street design procedure, based on empirical evidence. Three cities were studied (Portland, Seattle, and Philadelphia) by means of documentary information, visual inspections, and interviews. It is of special interest to unveil how traditional street design has been modified to adopt these new green elements within rights-of-way (ROW). Results show a longer and more complex street design process for green streets, where many more disciplines intervene. These results are discussed in the light of recent movements and trends in street design.
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