Suitability Assessment of Six Tree Species through Combined Analysis of PM2.5 Capture Ability and Air Pollution Tolerance Index for Urban Green Belt
Increasing concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) can cause a serious threat to urban air quality and human health. To reduce PM pollution in urban environments, pragmatic screening and planting of tolerant tree species can be effective and sustainable ways. However, our understanding of the effects of the capture ability of PM2.5on plant tolerance, and efforts to devise explicit assessment tools for suitability analysis for urban green belt plantations, are still inadequate. In this study, six common green tree species (Pinus tabuliformis,Abies holophylla,Juniperus chinensis,Salix babylonica,Robinia pseudoacacia, andPopulus alba) from three pollution sites in Shenyang City, China, were collected in order to assess their PM2.5capture ability, biochemical characteristics, leaf microstructures, and air pollution tolerance index (APTI). The results revealed that different sites and tested plant species can significantly affect the amount of PM2.5retained by leaf surfaces. The PM2.5retention amount ofAbies holophyllawas the highest at the SFH site and 1.41–8.89 times that of other tested species (p< 0.05). Morphological plant attributes, such as leaf surface roughness (r= 0.52 **) and contact angle (r= −0.57 **), were strongly related to the PM2.5retention amount. The PM2.5retention amount per unit leaf area had the strongest and most significant negative influence on total chlorophyll content (r= −0.743 **), indicating that the accumulation of leaf PM2.5reduced the photosynthetic efficiency of the plants. Among the tested plants,Robinia pseudoacaciahad the highest APTI value and was identified as the most resilient plant at all three sites, whereasJuniperus chinensishad the lowest APTI at all study sites. However, the integration of PM2.5capture ability with APTI showedPinus tabuliformisto be the best species for the construction of urban green belts in Shenyang City.Keywords:PM2.5;leaf microstructures;air pollution tolerance index;ascorbic acid;green belt plant
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）