cypress tree (cupressus arizonica greene.) as a biomonitor of heavy metal pollution in the atmosphere of isfahan

Cypress tree with blue green foliage and scaly reddish brown bark isplanted throughout world as an ornamental plant. one of the newest ways fordetermining amount and kind of environmental pollutants is natural biomonitoring.the samples were obtained from three sites (heavy traffic, moderatetraffic and control) in isfahan during august-september and novemberdecember2013 and february-march 2014. the concentrations of zn, ni andcu in leaf and root were measured by using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer.variations in the studied traits between sites and seasons wereobserved due to different anthropogenic activities. the higher concentrationof the studied heavy metals in leaves rather than in roots in all locationsillustrated a contribution of significant atmospheric deposition. the results ofcorrelation coefficients between traits indicated that the sites were influencedby a different source of pollution. there was a positive correlation betweenzinc and copper, indicating that they could be originated from fuels as well aspowder of shoe brake of vehicles. the mean metal concentration values werearranged in the following order: zn > cu > ni. the level of zinc in leaf androot was moderate at the control site indicating that vehicle traffic is a minoremission source for zinc and there may be another zinc source around there,such as industrial activities. the results demonstrated the suitability of thecypress (cupressus arizonica greene.) tree as a biomonitor of atmosphericpollution in isfahan.