Soba David, Gámez Angie L, Becerril José María, Esteban Raquel, Aranjuelo Iker
Instituto de Agrobiotecnología (IdAB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)-Gobierno de Navarra, Avenida Pamplona 123, 31192 Mutilva, Spain.
Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), c/Sarriena s/n, 48080 Bilbao, Spain.
Urban For Urban Green. 2022 Apr;70:127542. doi: 10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127542. Epub 2022 Mar 12.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a great global impact on human health, the life of people, and economies all over the world. However, in general, COVID-19´s effect on air quality has been positive due to the restrictions on social and economic activity. This study aimed to assess the impact on air quality and metal deposition of actions taken to reduce mobility in 2020 in two different urban locations. For this purpose, we analysed air pollution (NO, NO, NO, SO CO, PM O) and metal accumulation in leaves of collected from April to September 2020 in two cities in northern Spain (Pamplona-PA and San Sebastián-SS). We compared their values with data from the previous year (2019) (in which there were no mobility restrictions) obtained under an identical experimental design. We found that metal accumulation was mostly lower during 2020 (compared with 2019), and lockdown caused significant reductions in urban air pollution. Nitrogen oxides decreased by 33%-44%, CO by 24%-38%, and PM by 16%-24%. The contents of traffic-related metals were significantly reduced in both studied cities. More specifically, significant decreases in metals related to tyre and brake wear (Zn, Fe, and Cu) and road dust resuspension (Al, Ti, Fe, Mn, and Ca) were observed. With these results, we conclude that the main reason for the improvement in urban air pollutants and metals was the reduction in the use of cars due to COVID-19 lockdown. In addition, we offer some evidence indicating the suitability of leaves as a tool for biomonitoring metal accumulation This information is relevant for future use by the scientific community and policy makers to implement measures to reduce traffic air pollution in urban areas and to improve environmental and human health.
冠状病毒病（COVID-19）对全球人类健康、人们的生活以及世界各地的经济都产生了巨大影响。然而，总体而言，由于社会和经济活动受到限制，COVID-19对空气质量产生了积极影响。本研究旨在评估2020年在两个不同城市地区采取的减少出行措施对空气质量和金属沉积的影响。为此，我们分析了2020年4月至9月在西班牙北部两个城市（潘普洛纳 - PA和圣塞瓦斯蒂安 - SS）采集的叶片中的空气污染（NO、NO、NO、SO₂、CO、PM₁₀）和金属积累情况。我们将其值与上一年（2019年）（当时没有出行限制）在相同实验设计下获得的数据进行了比较。我们发现，2020年期间金属积累大多低于2019年，封锁导致城市空气污染显著降低。氮氧化物减少了33% - 44%，一氧化碳减少了24% - 38%，细颗粒物减少了16% - 24%。在两个研究城市中，与交通相关的金属含量均显著降低。更具体地说，观察到与轮胎和刹车磨损相关的金属（锌、铁和铜）以及道路扬尘再悬浮相关的金属（铝、钛、铁、锰和钙）显著减少。基于这些结果，我们得出结论，城市空气污染物和金属改善的主要原因是COVID-19封锁导致汽车使用减少。此外，我们提供了一些证据表明叶片作为生物监测金属积累工具的适用性。这些信息对于科学界和政策制定者未来实施减少城市地区交通空气污染以及改善环境和人类健康的措施具有重要意义。
