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2013, Volume 7, Issue 4

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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering >> 2013, Volume 7, Issue 4 doi: 10.1007/s11783-013-0524-1

Seasonal variations in leaf capturing of particulate matter, surface wettability and micromorphology in urban tree species

1. School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China; 2. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest Science and Technology University of Agriculture and Forestry, Yangling 712100, China

Available online: 2013-08-01
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Abstract

The seasonal changes in leaf particulate matter (PM) accumulation, surface wettability and micromorphology in urban tree species, including ( . ), ( . ) and ( . ), were studied during a single growing season. The three species showed distinct seasonal trends in PM accumulation, increasing from spring to autumn (or winter) even during the rainy season, but at different rates. During the study, the leaf PM retention amount of , a species with ridged leaf surfaces, was significantly higher than that of and , species with waxy leaf surfaces. The contact angles of water droplets on leaves decreased with leaf age except on the abaxial surface of , which remained non-wettable or highly non-wettable throughout the growing season; the decrease in the contact angle on adaxial surface of was greater when compared with and . A significant and negative relationship existed between leaf PM retention amounts and contact angles on adaxial surface of leaves of all three species. The increase in wettability, probably caused when epicuticular wax was destroyed by mechanical and chemical abrasion, seemed to be the main factor leading to seasonal variations in leaf PM accumulation.

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