Biomonitoring of urban habitat quality by anatomical and chemical leaf characteristics |
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| Authors: | BLWK Balasooriya R Samson F Mbikwa UWA Vitharana P Boeckx M Van Meirvenne |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium;2. Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry - ISOFYS, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium;3. Department of Soil Management and Soil Care, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium;1. Research Group Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp (Campus Drie Eiken), Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;2. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China;3. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Maine, 333 Neville Hall, Orono, ME 04469, USA;4. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan;5. Biodiversity and Landscape Unit, Université de Liège, Gembloux Agro Bio Tech, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium;1. Department of Bioscience Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2020 Antwerp, Belgium;2. Land and Water Management Unit, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Boeretang 200, BE-2400 Mol, Belgium;3. Laboratory of Biomedical Physics, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium;1. Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, Università degli Studi del Molise, Contrada Fonte Lappone, I-86090, Pesche, Italy;2. Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l′analisi dell''economia agraria (CREA), Research Centre for Forestry and Wood, Viale Santa Margherita 80, 52100, Arezzo, Italy;3. Dipartimento di Architettura e Progetto, Facoltà di Architettura, Sapienza Università di Roma, Via Flaminia 359, Rome, Italy;4. Department of Design and Planning in Complex Environments, University Iuav of Venice, S. Croce 1957, Venice, Italy;5. Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via V. Brancati 48, Rome, Italy;6. Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano, 77, Trento, Italy;7. Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy;1. School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;3. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China;4. Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 4648601, Japan;1. University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski’, Faculty of Biology, Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation, Plovdiv 4000, Tzar Assen Str. 24, Bulgaria;2. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Sofia 1113, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl. 23, Bulgaria |
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| Abstract: | This study focused on the potential of specific leaf area, stomatal density and stomatal pore surface as easy-to-measure plant parameters in low cost biomonitoring of urban habitat quality with a high spatial resolution. The study area (81.5 km2) was the city of Gent, Belgium. In the study area 148 sampling locations were identified within 4 land use classes. Specific leaf area, stomatal density, stomatal pore surface, minimal stomatal resistance, chlorophyll a and b, C and N content, δ13C and δ15N in the leaf samples of a common herbaceous plant Taraxacum officinalis were measured. The stomatal pore surface and minimal stomatal resistance of T. officinalis varied significantly between land use classes. In the harbor and industry land use class and the urban land use class a 27% and 21% lower mean stomatal pore surface at the abaxial leaf surface, and a 29% and 27% lower mean stomatal pore surface at the adaxial leaf surface was observed compared to that in the pasture land use class. The minimal stomatal resistance at the abaxial leaf surface was significantly higher in the urban land use class and harbor and industry land use class by 28% and 29%, respectively compared to that in the pasture land use class. In addition, urbanized and industrial land use classes as the harbour and industry and the urban land use classes showed significantly lower δ13C values compared to pasture land use class. The specific leaf area, stomatal parameters and δ13C data were geostatistically analyzed to understand their spatial variation. The spatial distributions of stomatal pore surface and minimal stomatal resistance varied considerably across the study area, indicating a different habitat quality from the harbour area in the north, over the city centre in the middle and the industrial areas in the south, compared to off city areas. Spatial patterns of δ13C showed depleted δ13C levels in city areas indicating the diluted δ13C in the urban atmosphere by fuel combustion. We concluded that stomatal characteristics seem to be the most promising parameter for estimating urban habitat quality. |
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