Biomonitoring potentially toxic elements in atmospheric particulate matter of greater Dhaka region using leaves of higher plants

Zuairia Binte Jashim; Saif Shahrukh; Shahid Akhtar Hossain; Jahan-E-Gulshan; Muhammad Nurul Huda; Md Mominul Islam; Mohammad Enayet Hossain

doi:10.1007/s10661-024-12612-3

Biomonitoring potentially toxic elements in atmospheric particulate matter of greater Dhaka region using leaves of higher plants

Environ Monit Assess. 2024 Apr 24;196(5):468. doi: 10.1007/s10661-024-12612-3.

Authors

Zuairia Binte Jashim¹, Saif Shahrukh¹, Shahid Akhtar Hossain¹, Jahan-E-Gulshan¹, Muhammad Nurul Huda², Md Mominul Islam³, Mohammad Enayet Hossain⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
² Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
⁴ Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh. enayetswe@du.ac.bd.

PMID: 38656463
DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12612-3

Abstract

In this study, four different plant species, namely Artocarpus heterophyllus, Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, and Swietenia mahagoni, were selected from seven different locations to assess the feasibility of using them as a cost-effective alternative for biomonitoring air quality. Atmospheric coarse particulate matter (PM₁₀), soil samples, and leaf samples were collected from residential, industrial, and traffic-congested sites located in the greater Dhaka region. The heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the leaves of the different species, PM₁₀, and soil samples were analyzed. The highest Pb (718 ng/m³) and Zn (15,956 ng/m³) concentrations were found in PM₁₀ of Kodomtoli which is an industrial area. On the other hand, the highest Fe (6,152 ng/m³) and Ni (61.1 ng/m³) concentrations were recorded in the PM₁₀ of Gabtoli, a heavy-traffic area. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.74; p < 0.01) between Pb content in plant leaves and PM fraction was found which indicated that atmospheric PM-bound Pb may contribute to the uptake of Pb by plant leaves. The analysis of the enrichment factor (EF) revealed that soils were contaminated with Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn. The abaxial leaf surfaces of Psidium guajava growing at the polluted site exhibited up to a 40% decrease in stomatal pores compared to the control site. Saet's summary index (Zc) demonstrated that Mangifera indica had the highest bioaccumulation capacity. The metal accumulation index (MAI) was also evaluated to assess the overall metal accumulation capacity of the selected plants. Of the four species, Swietenia mahagoni (3.05) exhibited the highest MAI value followed by Mangifera indica (2.97). Mangifera indica and Swietenia mahagoni were also found to accumulate high concentrations of Pb and Cr in their leaves and are deemed to be good candidates to biomonitor Pb and Cr contents in ambient air.

Keywords: Air pollution; Biomonitoring; Particulate matter; Potentially toxic elements (PTEs).

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Bangladesh
Environmental Monitoring* / methods
Mangifera / chemistry
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Particulate Matter* / analysis
Plant Leaves* / chemistry
Psidium / chemistry

Substances

Air Pollutants
Metals, Heavy
Particulate Matter