Effect of traffic-induced air pollution on seed germination of Arizona Cypress (Cupressus arizonica Green) and Black Pine (Pinus nigra Arnold)

Autor: Salar Rezapour, Saeed Musavi Moghanjugi, Nasrin Seyedi, Abbas Banj Shafiei, Zahra Babapour Aliyar
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 55:126841
ISSN: 1618-8667
DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126841
Popis: In this study, the effect of air pollution due to different traffic congestion of intersections and distance from intersection center on seed germination characteristics of Cupressus arizonica and Pinus nigra were studied in Urmia, Iran. At first, all intersections were classified into three classes of low, moderate and high traffic congestion using Urmia Traffic and Transport Organization report, and then 3 intersections were randomly selected from each class. Seed cones of C. arizonica and P. nigra that commonly planted in the boulevards leading to these intersections were collected at distances 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 m from the intersection center. The results showed that 1000 seed weight, germination rate (%), mean time to germination, Kotowski velocity coefficient, and maximum mean daily germination (peak value) of P. nigra seeds and only 1000 seed weight and seed germination rate (%) of C. arizonica significantly decreased with increasing traffic congestion. With increasing distance from intersection center, 1000 seed weight, seed germination rate (%) and mean time to germination of P. nigra in moderate traffic areas increased significantly. While, 1000 seed weight and seed germination rate (%) of C. arizonica in high and moderate traffic areas respectively followed the same circumstance. In general, both species were able to show the effect of air pollution as a bio-indicator, although, it seems that C. arizonica probably is more resistant to contaminants than P. nigra.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: