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Title: Dry acid deposition on leaves of Ligustrum and a new surrogate leaf

Conference · · Proc., Annu. Meet., Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5889128

The dry deposition of acidic particles and gases on plants depends on micrometeorology in the canopy and on the surface structure of the leaves. The authors chose two methods to collect and analyze this deposition: washing sulfate and nitrate deposits from the leaves of two species of Ligustrum, an ornamental shrub, and using a surrogate leaf which would absorb acidic gases through pores into a reservoir. The plants are kept in 5-gallon pots in order to be transportable. The leaves are washed, then exposed for a given length of time. Then the leaves are harvested and extracted in distilled water. This extract is analyzed by ion chromatography for sulfate and nitrate. The surrogate leaf is constructed with a nuclepore filter membrane simulating the stomatal openings of a leaf. There is a moist filter in the interior leading to a reservoir. Sulfur dioxide and other acidic gases diffuse through the nuclepore pores and are absorbed in the moist filter. After exposure the exterior surfaces are washed to extract any dry particulate, and the interior filter is analyzed for dissolved acidic gases. The ''leaf'' is small enough to be placed in the canopy in field studies. This surrogate leaf has also been used as a passive monitor in indoor air pollution studies. The surrogate leaves and the ligustrum have been exposed side by side at sites in Berkeley and in the Los Angeles air basin. A comparison has been made between the deposition on natural leaves and the deposition on the artificial leaves.

Research Organization:
Air and Industrial Hygiene Lab., Berkeley, CA
OSTI ID:
5889128
Report Number(s):
CONF-840612-
Journal Information:
Proc., Annu. Meet., Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States), Vol. 6; Conference: Air Pollution Control Association annual meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 25 Jun 1984
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English