Liu Qingyang
College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
Biology (Basel). 2025 May 22;14(6):583. doi: 10.3390/biology14060583.
Submicron soot particles (with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 1.0 μm) are found to be one of the major factors resulting in global warming and health burdens. However, research on the biomonitoring of submicron soot particles and their associated sources using tree leaves has not been comprehensively conducted. This study investigated the seasonal trends of submicron soot particles on the leaves of seven tree types collected from four individual seasons across two years in Nanjing, in the Yangtze River Delta region of China, and performed source apportionment using stable carbon isotope analysis. Significant seasonal variations in submicron soot particles were observed on tree leaves of seven tree types, with average levels of 0.3 to 0.5 mg m during summer and 0.5 to 1.3 mg m during winter. The levels of submicron soot particles varied significantly across various tree types. In contrast, the levels of δC were not found to change significantly across different types. The levels of δC ranged from -26.3‱ to -20.9‱ in winter and from -24.0‱ to -18.1‱ in summer, with fossil fuels accounting for 56% and 78% of submicron soot in winter and summer on average, respectively. These results demonstrate that tree leaves can serve as a low-cost and effective biomonitoring tool for assessing the source status of submicron soot.
亚微米级烟尘颗粒（空气动力学直径小于1.0μm）被认为是导致全球变暖和健康负担的主要因素之一。然而，利用树叶对亚微米级烟尘颗粒及其相关来源进行生物监测的研究尚未全面开展。本研究调查了在中国长江三角洲地区南京采集的两年内四个季节的七种树木叶片上亚微米级烟尘颗粒的季节变化趋势，并使用稳定碳同位素分析进行了源解析。在七种树木的叶片上观察到亚微米级烟尘颗粒存在显著的季节变化，夏季平均水平为0.3至0.5mg/m，冬季为0.5至1.3mg/m。亚微米级烟尘颗粒的水平在不同树木种类间存在显著差异。相比之下，δC水平在不同类型间未发现显著变化。冬季δC水平范围为-26.3‰至-20.9‰，夏季为-24.0‰至-18.1‰，化石燃料平均分别占冬季和夏季亚微米级烟尘的56%和78%。这些结果表明，树叶可作为一种低成本且有效的生物监测工具，用于评估亚微米级烟尘的来源状况。
