The Air Microelemental Pollution and Trees Health Status. A Case Study: Quantification of Air Pollution with Pb, Using Trees as Bioindicators

The identification of the urban areas where bigger air pollutants generally, and metallic pollutants, particularly, concentrations compared to limit allowed maximum concentration are recorded are important in elaboration and implementation of the plans and programmes of air quality management, but also for permanent updating of these and their alignment to the continuous realit y changes. In this context, we emphasize the importance of using the tree planted in urban areas, as bioindicators for identification of air pollution with heavy metals  ( Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, etc. ) , their tendency to accumulate in vegetal material, leaves, and/or needles, respectively, being well known. In majority of cases, the heavy metals environmental air pollution leads to lesions of the vegetal tissue of the trees, mainly in leaves. The research aims to identify the lead pollution by using, as bioindicators, the trees planted in neighbourhood of the stations of air quality monitoring in Cluj - Napoca town. The research objectives consist in identification of the trees as possible biomonitoring agents and quantification of lead accumulation in trees leaves, with the aim of identification the areas where the lead concentration in leaves is superior to the limit lead maximum allowed concentration. The study was developed in Cluj - Napoca, and samples were harvested from trees located in areas from neighbourhood of the air quality monitoring stations respectively: CLU-1  ( Aurel Vlaicu St. ) , CLU-2  ( Centre - area from neighbourhood of Nicolae Balcescu College ) , CLU-3  ( 1 Decembrie 1918 Boulevard) , and CLU-4  ( area around Expo Transilvania ) .