Influence of environmental pollution on leaf properties of urban plane trees, Platanus orientalis L

Abstract

To investigate whether leaves of plane trees (Platanus orientalis) are damaged by traffic pollution, trees from a megacity (Mashhad, Iran) and a rural area were investigated. Soil and air from the urban centre showed enrichment of several toxic elements, but only lead was enriched in leaves. Leaf size and stomata density were lower at the urban site. At the urban site leaf surfaces were heavily loaded by dust particles but the stomata were not occluded; the cuticle was thinner; other anatomical properties were unaffected suggesting that plane trees can cope with traffic exhaust in megacities.

Fig. 1

Anatomical leaf properties of Platanus orientalis trees from an urban and a rural site. Stomata with guard cells from an urban (a) and a rural site (b), scale bars = 10 μm. Lower surface of plane leaves from an urban (c) and a rural site (d), scale bars = 100 μm. Upper surface with particles of planes from an urban (e) and a rural site (f), scale bars = 100 μm. Cross sections through leaves from an urban (g) and a rural site (h), scale bars = 50 μm