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Article

Strawberry Plant as a Biomonitor of Trace Metal Air Pollution—A Citizen Science Approach in an Urban-Industrial Area near Lisbon, Portugal

by
Carla A. Gamelas
1,2,*,
Nuno Canha
1,3,*,
Ana R. Justino
1,
Alexandra Nunes
1,
Sandra Nunes
4,5,
Isabel Dionísio
1,
Zsofia Kertesz
6 and
Susana Marta Almeida
1
1
Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, Km 139.7, 2695-066 Bobadela, Portugal
2
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Setúbal, Campus do IPS, Estefanilha, 2914-508 Setúbal, Portugal
3
HyLab—Green Hydrogen Collaborative Laboratory, Estrada Nacional 120-1, Central Termoelétrica, 7520-089 Sines, Portugal
4
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais, Campus do IPS, Estefanilha, 2914-508 Setúbal, Portugal
5
Center for Mathematics and Applications, NOVAMATH, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
6
HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (ATOMKI), 4026 Debrecen, Hungary
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2024, 13(24), 3587; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13243587
Submission received: 14 November 2024 / Revised: 5 December 2024 / Accepted: 15 December 2024 / Published: 23 December 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity of Plants and Their Use in Biomonitoring and Environmental Protection)
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Abstract

A biomonitoring study of air pollution was developed in an urban-industrial area (Seixal, Portugal) using leaves of strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duchesne ex Rozier) as biomonitors to identify the main sources and hotspots of air pollution in the study area. The distribution of exposed strawberry plants in the area was based on a citizen science approach, where residents were invited to have the plants exposed outside their homes. Samples were collected from a total of 49 different locations, and their chemical composition was analyzed for 22 chemical elements using X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry. Source apportionment tools, such as enrichment factors and principal component analysis (PCA), were used to identify three different sources, one geogenic and two anthropogenic (steel industry and traffic), besides plant major nutrients. The spatial distribution of elemental concentrations allowed the identification of the main pollution hotspots in the study area. The reliability of using strawberry leaves as biomonitors of air pollution was evaluated by comparing them with the performance of transplanted lichens by regression analysis, and a significant relation was found for Fe, Pb, Ti, and Zn, although with a different accumulation degree for the two biomonitors. Furthermore, by applying PCA to the lichen results, the same pollution sources were identified.
Keywords: strawberry leaves; air biomonitoring; particulate matter; metal accumulation; citizen science strawberry leaves; air biomonitoring; particulate matter; metal accumulation; citizen science
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MDPI and ACS Style

Gamelas, C.A.; Canha, N.; Justino, A.R.; Nunes, A.; Nunes, S.; Dionísio, I.; Kertesz, Z.; Almeida, S.M. Strawberry Plant as a Biomonitor of Trace Metal Air Pollution—A Citizen Science Approach in an Urban-Industrial Area near Lisbon, Portugal. Plants 2024, 13, 3587. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13243587

AMA Style

Gamelas CA, Canha N, Justino AR, Nunes A, Nunes S, Dionísio I, Kertesz Z, Almeida SM. Strawberry Plant as a Biomonitor of Trace Metal Air Pollution—A Citizen Science Approach in an Urban-Industrial Area near Lisbon, Portugal. Plants. 2024; 13(24):3587. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13243587

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gamelas, Carla A., Nuno Canha, Ana R. Justino, Alexandra Nunes, Sandra Nunes, Isabel Dionísio, Zsofia Kertesz, and Susana Marta Almeida. 2024. "Strawberry Plant as a Biomonitor of Trace Metal Air Pollution—A Citizen Science Approach in an Urban-Industrial Area near Lisbon, Portugal" Plants 13, no. 24: 3587. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13243587

APA Style

Gamelas, C. A., Canha, N., Justino, A. R., Nunes, A., Nunes, S., Dionísio, I., Kertesz, Z., & Almeida, S. M. (2024). Strawberry Plant as a Biomonitor of Trace Metal Air Pollution—A Citizen Science Approach in an Urban-Industrial Area near Lisbon, Portugal. Plants, 13(24), 3587. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13243587

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