Lecture 7
The use of higher plants as
bioindicators
Plan:
• Introduction
• Taxus baccata as a Bioindicator of Urban Environmental
Pollution
• PELARGONIUM RADULA AS A PLANT BIOINDICATOR IN
MONITORING MERCURY IN DRINKING WATER
• Sunflower Plants as Bioindicators of Environmental
Pollution with Lead (II) Ions
• Higher Plants As Bioindicators Of Sulphur Dioxide
Emissions In Urban Environments
• Higher Plants as Bioindicators of Urban Air Quality in
Europe – Active Monitoring Procedures and Steps
towards Harmonisation of Methods
INTRODUCTION
Higher plants as accumulative bioindicators
• Higher plants and plant communities play a fundamental
role for nutrition and life on earth.
• As non-mobile organisms they are always exposed to the
environmental conditions, for instance to air pollutants, at
their sites of growth.
• The properties of the aerial plant parts and the nature
of the pollutants are responsible for accumulation of
several harmful compounds in the plants.
• Plants have high leaf area indices; i.e. the surface area
of the plant is much higher than the area on ground
covered by the aerial plant parts. As a consequence, the
aerial plant parts effectively filter out air pollutants.
The investigation of higher plants as
accumulative indicators
• The investigation of higher plants as accumulative indicators for air
pollution has in the meanwhile a long tradition.
• Already in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century
plant organs were chemically analysed to detect the impact of emitters.
• Particularly in the last decades of the 20th century a rapid increase in
bioindication studies for pollutant loads in higher plants can be observed.
• The reasons behind were the increasing emissions rates and their
impact on the biosphere and ecosystems.
• As a consequence, there has been a great need for cost-saving
monitoring methods as well as tools that allow a direct assessment of
pollutant contamination in plants and of the pollutant exposure of their
subsequent consumers, particularly man.
• Only bioindication techniques are able to fulfil both of these
requirements.
Taxus baccata as a Bioindicator of
Urban Environmental Pollution
Taxus baccata as a Bioindicator of
Urban Environmental Pollution
• Air pollution with trace metals is a matter of
great interest, especially in urban areas.
• Tree foliage, both evergreen and deciduous, is
regarded as a good bioindicator of the
environment and has been tested for this
purpose in industrialized regions.
• Although trees and shrubs, contrary to lichens
or mosses, are not the best indicators for air
pollution monitoring, they are the major plant
type found in urban areas with a high degree of
pollution.
• Both
coniferous
and
deciduous trees can be used in
the detection of aerial heavy
metal pollution, but coniferous
trees indicate pollution over a
longer time period.
deciduous
coniferous
• So trees not only have
an ornamental function in
urban areas, but their
leaves and bark can
uptake and accumulate
pollutants straight from
the atmosphere.
Taxus baccata L.
• is an understory tree, a
mediumsized
slowgrowing
evergreen
gymnosperm found in
temperate
forests
in
northwestern
North
America, East Asia, and
North Africa. It also is a
long-lived
rare
and
endangered species in
many European countries.
• Although yew is widely
distributed
throughout
Europe, it declines sharply
over most of its range. In
Poland, yew has been
reported from about 250
natural
localtions
from
northwestern and southern
parts of the country.
• In spite of the decline, this
species
is
frequently
introduced into parks and
green areas and used as
ornamentals
of
urban
environments.
• 1. Needles and bark of T. baccata from most, medium, and less
polluted sites were clearly distinguished by the principal
component and classification analysis (PCCA). The most
polluted needles projected more closely with Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe,
Mg, Mn, Ni, and Pb, and the most polluted bark projected
more closely with Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn.
• Bark was a better bioindicator of urban pollution in Wrocław
than needles of T. baccata.
Wrocław
Сoncentrations of elements in Taxus baccata
needles (mg・kg-1 D.W.),
Сoncentrations of elements in Taxus baccata
bark (mg・kg-1 D.W.),
PELARGONIUM RADULA AS A PLANT
BIOINDICATOR IN MONITORING
MERCURY (Hg) IN DRINKING WATER
• Among the 63 plants screened in this study,
P. radula was chosen as the best bioindicator
to detect the presence of Hg in drinking water.
• P. radula treated with Hg exhibited
morphological changes including changes of
color from green to yellowish-brown, chlorosis
and became wilted within 4 h of Hg
treatment.
Article: PELARGONIUM RADULA AS A PLANT BIOINDICATOR IN MONITORING MERCURY IN DRINKING WATER, Noraishah A Majid et al. /
Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering) 77:24 (2015) 29–34
Hg toxicity became more severe as the
concentration of Hg increased, and duration of
exposure to Hg increased.
PELARGONIUM RADULA
Sunflower Plants as Bioindicators of
Environmental Pollution with Lead (II)
Ions
The scheme of
various ways how to
a plant metabolizes
or deposit the
pollutant is
shown in Figure 1.
Article: Sunflower
Plants
as
Bioindicators
of
Environmental
Pollution with Lead
(II) Ions, Sensors
2009, 9, 5040-5058;
doi:10.3390/s90705
040
• We have demonstrated the ability of a laser-ablation based
analytical method (LIBS) to map the distribution of lead and
magnesium in the leaves of sunflower plants.
• Moreover, we have
shown
that
the
combination of LIBS
with other precise
analytical
techniques
such
as
high
performance
liquid
chromatography with
electrochemical
detection
and
automated
spectrometric analysis
can
provide
many
interesting results.
Levels of lead in the environment
• Heavy metals are also dangerous because they tend
to bioaccumulate.
• Lead is one of the most dangerous and toxic heavy
metals.
• Levels of lead in the environment are not stable and
vary according to industrial production, urbanization,
climate changes and many other factors.
• The levels of lead in the environment vary between 4
and 20 mg/g of dust.
• Uncontaminated waters contain lead in concentrations
ranging from 0.001 to 0.06 mg/L.
• In soils, levels of lead reach 5 to 30 mg per kg of soil.
• The adverse effect of lead (II) ions is shown on
dependence of dry weight on length of the treatment
and applied concentration.
Higher Plants As Bioindicators Of
Sulphur Dioxide Emissions In Urban
Environments
• The evaluation of certain vascular plants that grow in the city
of Madrid as biomonitors of SO2 air pollution in urban
environments has been carried out.
• Total concentration of sulphur in leaves of the chosen higher
plants as well as other parameters in close relation to this
contaminant (visible injury symptoms, chlorophyll a- and bcontent and peroxidase activity) have been determined in
order to study the spatial distribution and temporal changes
in SO2 deposition.
Article: Higher Plants As Bioindicators Of Sulphur Dioxide Emissions In Urban
Environments, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (2005) 111: 75–88 DOI:
10.1007/s10661-005-8140-6
• Results obtained show that coniferous species
such as Pinus pinea, were more sensitive to
SO2 atmospheric concentration than leafy
species as Quercux ilex subspecies ballota and,
in the sameway, bush species, such as
Pyracantha coccinea and Nerium oleander,
were more sensitive than wooded species,
such as Cedrus deodara and Pinus pinea,
respectively.
• There is a higher accumulation of sulphur in vegetable
species located near highways and dense traffic
incidence roads and near areas with high density of
population.
• The minimum values for accumulation of SO2 were
registered in winter and spring seasons (from January
to April) due to the vegetative stop; while maximum
values are obtained during the summer season (from
June to September), due to the stoma opening.
• The highest increments in sulphur concentration,
calculated as the difference between two
consecutive months, are obtained in May and
June for all considered species except for Cedrus
deodara and Pyracantha coccinea, both species
have few seasonal changes during the whole year.
• Some species are more sensitive to natural
washing than others, showing a decrease in
sulphur concentration after rainfall periods.
• The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of
certain vascular plants that grow in the city of Madrid
as biomonitors of gaseous air pollution in urban
environments, in particular as SO2 level bioindicators.
• The total concentration of sulphur in leaves of the
chosen higher plants as well as other parameters in
close relation to this contaminant (visible injury
symptoms, chlorophyll a- and b-content and
peroxidase activity) were determined, in order to study
the spatial distribution and temporal changes in SO2
deposition.
Figure 2. Physiognomy analysis of Pinus pinea and Quercus ilex. The arrow shows the
major alteration in the leaves.
• 1.The diverse vegetal species have different
responses in presence of equal amounts of
atmospheric SO2. In general, coniferous
species as Pinus pinea, are more sensitive to
SO2 atmospheric concentration than leafy
species as Quercux ilex and, in the same way,
bush species, such as Pyracantha coccinea and
Nerium oleander, are more sensitive than
wooded species, such as Cedrus deodara and
Pinus pinea, respectively.
• 2. There is a higher assimilation of sulphur in
vegetable species located near by highways
and dense traffic incidence roads and close to
areas with high density of population. In this
way, parks sited in the Western area of Madrid
show higher increments of total sulphur than
the little park sited in the Northeast of the city
does it.
• 3. Some species are more sensitive to natural
washing than others, showing a decrease in
sulphur concentration after rainfall periods. In
this sense, Pyracantha coccinea leaves are
more sensitive to natural washing than Cedrus
deodara leaves.
• 4. Winter and spring seasons (from January to
April) show the minimum values for accumulation
of SO2, due to the vegetative stop; while
maximum values are obtained during the
summer season(from June to September), due to
the stoma opening. In the same way, maximum
values for the increment of sulphur between two
consecutive months are obtained in May and
June for all considered species except for Cedrus
deodara and Pyracantha coccinea; which have
few seasonal changes during the whole year.
Higher Plants as Bioindicators of
Urban Air Quality in Europe – Active
Monitoring Procedures and Steps
towards Harmonisation of Methods
Article: Higher Plants as Bioindicators of Urban Air Quality in Europe – Active Monitoring
Procedures and Steps towards Harmonisation of Methods,
• The use of higher plants as bioindicators of air quality has a
long tradition in several European countries.
• The adoption of biomonitoring procedures for routine air
quality control and management strategies, however, has
been complicated by the lack of standardisation of
methods and consequently low comparability of results
obtained in different studies.
• In this paper, we report on recent local and international
biomonitoring studies conducted in various EU Member
States in which higher plants were used as bioindicators of
urban air quality under highly standardised conditions.
• Tobacco plants, e.g., were
exposed to ambient air at
more than 100 monitoring
sites in nine countries.
• These
experiments
demonstrated the strong
impact of phytotoxic ozone
concentrations at urban as
well as at suburban and
rural locations and a clear
north-south gradient of
ozone-induced plant injury
in Europe.
Ozone damage in tobacco
• Standardised
grass
cultures with Italian rye
grass were used as
accumulative
bioindicators to detect
local hot spots of heavy
metal contamination, to
demonstrate the spatial
and temporal variability
of sulphur and heavy
metal pollution in urban
agglomerations and to
monitor ambient fluoride
levels in the vicinity of an
industrial plant.
Italian Ryegrass
Tradescantia
• Tradescantia clones,
highly sensitive to
mutagenic
substances,
were
successfully applied to
detect sites with
elevated
genotoxic
potential due to car
traffic emissions.
Curly kale plants
• Biomonitoring
of
organic
pollutants
including
carcinogenic
substances
like
benzo(a)pyrene and
other PAH was done
by determining the
accumulation
of
these substances in
the leaves of exposed
curly kale plants.
Conclusion
• These studies did not only provide extensive data on
air quality and air pollution effects in built-up areas in
various European countries, but also demonstrated
that a harmonisation of methods on the European
scale is feasible and should now be strived for.
• Such standardisation processes will enable authorities
to implement biomonitoring methods in environmental
regulations. Based on these conclusions, options for
the use of bioindicator plants in the frame of current
and up-coming European Air Quality Directives as well
as Environment and Health Strategies are discussed
and proposals for on-going international cooperation in
this field are presented.
Literature
• Taxus baccata as a Bioindicator of Urban Environmental Pollution,
Polish J. of Environ. Stud. Vol. 20, No. 4 (2011), 1021-1027
• PELARGONIUM RADULA AS A PLANT BIOINDICATOR IN
MONITORING MERCURY IN DRINKING WATER, Noraishah A Majid et
al. / Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering) 77:24 (2015) 29–34
• Sunflower Plants as Bioindicators of Environmental Pollution with
Lead (II) Ions, Sensors 2009, 9, 5040-5058; doi:10.3390/s90705040
• Higher Plants As Bioindicators Of Sulphur Dioxide Emissions In
Urban Environments, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
(2005) 111: 75–88 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-005-8140-6
• Higher Plants as Bioindicators of Urban Air Quality in Europe –
Active Monitoring Procedures and Steps towards Harmonisation of
Methods,