IMBIV 05474
INSTITUTO MULTIDISCIPLINARIO DE BIOLOGIA VEGETAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Aleppo Pine Bark as a Biomonitor of Atmospheric Pollution in the Arid Environment of Jordan
Autor/es:
AL-ALAWI, M; BATARSEH, M.; CARRERAS, H; ALAWI, M.; JIRIES, A.; CHARLESWORTH, S.
Revista:
Clean
Editorial:
Wiley
Referencias:
Año: 2007 vol. 35 p. 438 - 443
ISSN:
1863-0650
Resumen:
Monitoring of atmospheric pollution using Aleppo bark as a bioindicator was carried
out in the industrial area surrounding the Al-Hussein thermal power station and the
oil refinery at Al-Hashimyeh town, Jordan. The concentrations of heavy metals (copper,
lead, cadmium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, zinc, iron, and chromium) were analyzed
in bark samples collected from the study area during July 2004. The results
showed that high levels of heavy metals were found in tree bark samples retrieved
from all studied sites compared with the remote reference site. This is, essentially,
due to the fact that the oil refinery and the thermal power plant still use low-quality
fuel oil from the by-products of oil refining. Automobile emissions are another source
of pollution since the study area is located along a major heavy-traffic highway. It was
found that the area around the study sites (Al-Hashimyeh town, Zarqa) is polluted
with high levels of heavy metals. Pine bark was found to be a suitable bioindicator of
aerial fallout of heavy metals in arid regions.
