This study reports application of monitoring and characterization protocol for particulate matter (PM) deposited on tree leaves, using Quercus ilex as a case study species. The study area is located in the industrial city of Terni in central Italy, with high PM concentrations. Four trees were selected as representative of distinct pollution environments based on their proximity to a steel factory and a street. Wash off from leaves onto cellulose filters were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, inferring the associations between particle sizes, chemical composition, and sampling location. Modeling of particle size distributions showed a tri-modal fingerprint, with the three modes centered at 0.6 (factory related), 1.2 (urban background), and 2.6μm (traffic related). Chemical detection identified 23 elements abundant in the PM samples. Principal component analysis recognized iron and copper as source-specific PM markers, attributed mainly to industrial and heavy traffic pollution respectively. Upscaling these results on leaf area basis provided a useful indicator for strategic evaluation of harmful PM pollutants using tree leaves.

Faculty of Engineering and the Environment University of Southampton Highfield Campus Southampton SO17 1BJ UK

Institute of Agro Environmental and Forest Biology National Research Council and Via Castellino 111 Napoli Italy

Institute of Agro Environmental and Forest Biology National Research Council and Via Castellino 111 Napoli Italy; Global Change Research Centre Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v v i Bělidla 986 4a 603 00 Brno Czech Republic

University of Molise and Via Castellino 111 Napoli Italy

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