Traffic restrictions during COVID-19 lockdown improve air quality and reduce metal biodeposition in tree leaves

Soba Hidalgo, David; Gámez Guzmán, Angie Lorena; Becerril, José María; Esteban Terradillos, Raquel; Aranjuelo Michelena, Iker

Traffic restrictions during COVID-19 lockdown improve air quality and reduce metal biodeposition in tree leaves

dc.contributor.author	Soba Hidalgo, David
dc.contributor.author	Gámez Guzmán, Angie Lorena
dc.contributor.author	Becerril, José María
dc.contributor.author	Esteban Terradillos, Raquel
dc.contributor.author	Aranjuelo Michelena, Iker
dc.contributor.department	IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua	es_ES
dc.date.accessioned	2022-09-05T08:18:19Z
dc.date.available	2022-09-05T08:18:19Z
dc.date.issued	2022
dc.date.updated	2022-09-05T08:09:01Z
dc.description.abstract	The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a great global impact on human health, the life of people, and economies all over the world. However, in general, COVID-19´s effect on air quality has been positive due to the restrictions on social and economic activity. This study aimed to assess the impact on air quality and metal deposition of actions taken to reduce mobility in 2020 in two different urban locations. For this purpose, we analysed air pollution (NO2, NO, NOx, SO2, CO, PM10, O3) and metal accumulation in leaves of Tilia cordata collected from April to September 2020 in two cities in northern Spain (Pamplona-PA and San Sebastián-SS). We compared their values with data from the previous year (2019) (in which there were no mobility restrictions) obtained under an identical experimental design. We found that metal accumulation was mostly lower during 2020 (compared with 2019), and lockdown caused significant reductions in urban air pollution. Nitrogen oxides decreased by 33%−44%, CO by 24%−38%, and PM10 by 16%−24%. The contents of traffic-related metals were significantly reduced in both studied cities. More specifically, significant decreases in metals related to tyre and brake wear (Zn, Fe, and Cu) and road dust resuspension (Al, Ti, Fe, Mn, and Ca) were observed. With these results, we conclude that the main reason for the improvement in urban air pollutants and metals was the reduction in the use of cars due to COVID-19 lockdown. In addition, we offer some evidence indicating the suitability of T. cordata leaves as a tool for biomonitoring metal accumulation. This information is relevant for future use by the scientific community and policy makers to implement measures to reduce traffic air pollution in urban areas and to improve environmental and human health.	en
dc.description.sponsorship	This research was funded by the UPV/EHU-GV IT-1018-16 program (Basque Government).	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/msword	en
dc.identifier.citation	Soba, D.; Gámez, A. L.; Becerril, J. M.; Esteban, R.; Aranjuelo, I.. (2022). Traffic restrictions during COVID-19 lockdown improve air quality and reduce metal biodeposition in tree leaves. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 70, .	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127542
dc.identifier.issn	1618-8667
dc.identifier.uri	https://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/43952
dc.language.iso	eng	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier	en
dc.relation.ispartof	Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 2022, vol. 70
dc.relation.publisherversion	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127542
dc.rights	© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license	en
dc.rights.accessRights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subject	Biomonitoring	en
dc.subject	COVID-19	en
dc.subject	Lockdown	en
dc.subject	Metal deposition	en
dc.subject	Traffic emissions	en
dc.subject	Urban pollutants	en
dc.title	Traffic restrictions during COVID-19 lockdown improve air quality and reduce metal biodeposition in tree leaves	en
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dspace.entity.type	Publication
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