Determination of heavy metal accumulation in some landscape plants

Air pollution is one of the biggest problems of urban environments today. Heavy metals are particularly important in terms of components of air pollution. Because heavy metals can stay in nature for a long time without being disintegrated, and their concentration in the environment is constantly increasing. They also tend to bio-accumulate. Therefore, determination of the heavy metal concentration is crucial for identifying high-risk areas and the level of risk. Plants are generally used as bio-monitors for determining heavy metal concentration in the air. Determination of heavy metal concentrations in plants is crucial in determining the ability of plants to remove heavy metals from the air, and thus being used as a means of increasing air quality, as well as monitoring air quality. The aim of this study was to determine the variation of different heavy metal concentrations depending on traffic density in certain landscape plants collected from areas where traffic density is at different levels. For this purpose leaf samples of Salix babylonica, Tilia tomentosa, Eleagnus angustifolia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Sophora japonica, Prunus cerasifera, Ailanthus altissima and Aesculus hippocastanum, which are frequently used in landscaping studies, were collected from individuals where there was dense traffic, less dense traffic, and almost no traffic, and the quantities of Pb, Cu, Ca, Mg, Cd, Cr, Ni, Fe, Mn and Zn were determined by heavy metal analysis. As a results of the study, it was determined that Sophora japonica is the most suitable for determination of the exchanging of Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn and Zn depends on traffic density. In addition, it was determined the most suitable species among the species studied in the course of monitoring the changes occurring due to traffic intensity are Prunus cerasifera for Pb, Ailanthus altissima for Mg, Eleagnus angustifolia for Cd, and Robinia pseudoacacia for Ca and Ni, respectively