Distribution and sources of bioaccumulative air pollutants at Mezquital Valley, Mexico, as reflected by the atmospheric plant Tillandsia recurvata L.
Item
Title (Dublin Core)
Distribution and sources of bioaccumulative air pollutants at Mezquital Valley, Mexico, as reflected by the atmospheric plant Tillandsia recurvata L.
Description (Dublin Core)
Mezquital Valley (MV), a Mexican wastewater-based agricultural and industrial region, is a "hot spot" of regulated air pollutants emissions, but the concurrent unregulated ones, like hazardous metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), remain undocumented. A biomonitoring survey with the epiphytic <i>Tillandsia recurvata</i> was conducted there to detect spatial patterns and potential sources of 20 airborne elements and 15 PAH. The natural δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N ratios of this plant helped in source identification. The regional mean concentration of most elements was two (Cr) to over 40 times (Ni, Pb, V) higher than reported for <i>Tillandsia</i> in other countries. Eleven elements, pyrene and chrysene had 18–214% higher mean concentration at the industrial south than at the agricultural north of MV. The total quantified PAH (mean, 572 ng g<sup>−1</sup>; range, 143–2568) were composed by medium (65%, phenanthrene to chrysene), low (28%, naphthalene to fluorene) and high molecular weight compounds (7%, Benzo(<i>b</i>)fluoranthene to indeno(1,2,3-<i>cd</i>)pyrene). The δ<sup>13</sup>C (mean, −14.6‰; range, −15.7‰ to −13.7‰) was consistently lower than −15‰ near the major petroleum combustion sources. The δ<sup>15</sup>N (mean, −3.0‰; range, −9.9‰ to 3.3‰) varied from positive at agriculture/industrial areas to negative at rural sites. Factor analysis provided a five-factor solution for 74% of the data variance: 1) crustal rocks, 39.5% (Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Sr, Ti); 2) soils, 11.3%, contrasting contributions from natural (Mg, Mn, Zn) and saline agriculture soils (Na); 3) cement production and fossil fuel combustion, 9.8% (Ca, Ni, V, chrysene, pyrene); 4) probable agricultural biomass burning, 8.1% (K and benzo(<i>g,h,i</i>)perylene), and 5) agriculture with wastewater, 5.2% (δ<sup>15</sup>N and P). These results indicated high deposition of bioaccumulative air pollutants at MV, especially at the industrial area. Since <i>T. recurvata</i> reflected the regional differences in exposition, it is recommended as a biomonitor for comparisons within and among countries where it is distributed: southern USA to Argentina.
Creator (Dublin Core)
Zambrano García, A.
Medina Coyotzin, C.
Rojas Amaro, A.
López Veneroni, D.
Chang Martínez, L.
Sosa Iglesias, G.
Date (Dublin Core)
2018-01-15
Type (Dublin Core)
Text
Format (Dublin Core)
application/pdf
Identifier (Dublin Core)
10.5194/acp-9-6479-2009
https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/9/6479/2009/
Source (Dublin Core)
eISSN: 1680-7324
Language (Dublin Core)
eng
