Ficus retusa L. as possible indicator of air metallic pollution in urban environment

The aim of this study was to explore the accumulation potential of heavy metals (HMs) by Ficus retusa L. and its possible use for air pollution biomonitoring in urban areas. Plant material was sampled along the national roads in Constantine city (NE-Algeria), characterized by an intense traffic load. The concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc were determined in the washed and unwashed leaves. The mean concentrations of HMs decrease in the following order: Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd for both studied leaves, and were about 0.68 and 0.98 mg/kg d.m for Cd, 7.26 and 8.74 mg/kg d.m for Cu, 20.35 and 37.61 mg/kg d.m for Pb and 63.33 mg/kg d.m and 75.94 mg/kg d.m for Zn, for washed and unwashed leaves respectively. The studied metal contents were significantly higher than those cited in the literature; this indicates the traffic road impact on HMs emissions and uptake by plants. Higher values of metal accumulation index (MAI) indicate the effectiveness of the studied species for monitoring air metallic pollution in urban areas. Results of this study could be beneficial as preliminary reference values for HMs uptake by F. retusa in urban environments.