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Article

Plant Traits of Tilia tomentosa Moench, Fraxinus excelsior L., and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold as a Proxy of Urbanization

by
Slaveya Petrova
1,2,* and
Mariana Petkova
2
1
Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation, Faculty of Biology, University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, 24 Tzar Asen Str., 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2
Department of Microbiology and Ecological Biotechnologies, Faculty of Plant Protection and Agroecology, Agricultural University, 12 Mendeleev Blvd., 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Forests 2023, 14(4), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040800
Submission received: 22 March 2023 / Revised: 10 April 2023 / Accepted: 11 April 2023 / Published: 13 April 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Response of Trees to Air Pollution in Urban Forests)

Abstract

Linden, ash, and pine are ubiquitous ornamental trees due to their ability to adapt to the urban environment. They have been key species in urban green infrastructure from more than hundreds of years and play an active role in maintaining ecosystem services. The urbanization rate in recent decades, combined with global climate change, has led to dynamic changes in the environmental factors which pose new challenges to urban vegetation. Hence, the aims of this study were as follows: (i) to track changes in the content of some elements in plant leaves after transplanting them into an urban environment; (ii) to investigate the relationship between urbanization intensity with plant traits (leaf injuries, photosynthetic activity, transpiration, stomatal conductance, and molecular changes); and (iii) to provide recommendations for improving the management and ecological functions of urban trees. To address these aims, data on urbanization intensity (according to the percentage of built-up area and traffic volume), plant performance, and intraspecific variations of silver linden (Tilia tomentosa), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), and European black pine (Pinus nigra) were collected at four experimental plots in the city of Plovdiv (Bulgaria) during 2015–2020. The initial concentrations of some potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb, V, and Zn) in the tree leaves at the beginning (prior to planting into the urban environment) and at the end of the experiment were also measured. We illustrate that the growth of urbanization intensity increased the concentrations of potentially toxic elements in tree leaves, caused leaf injuries, and enhanced the maximum photosynthetic rate but decreased the transpiration rate and stomatal conductance. At the molecular level, the percentage of polymorphic bands was also found to depend on urbanization intensity. High similarity was observed between the trees in the first three experimental plots (subjected to urbanization load), with the lowest similarity in the control plot. These findings are of high practical value for urban planners regarding how to build a new green infrastructure and how to preserve plant diversity in urban areas across urbanization gradients.
Keywords: linden; ash; pine; functional traits; molecular markers; urban trees; heavy metals; environmental pollution linden; ash; pine; functional traits; molecular markers; urban trees; heavy metals; environmental pollution

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MDPI and ACS Style

Petrova, S.; Petkova, M. Plant Traits of Tilia tomentosa Moench, Fraxinus excelsior L., and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold as a Proxy of Urbanization. Forests 2023, 14, 800. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040800

AMA Style

Petrova S, Petkova M. Plant Traits of Tilia tomentosa Moench, Fraxinus excelsior L., and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold as a Proxy of Urbanization. Forests. 2023; 14(4):800. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040800

Chicago/Turabian Style

Petrova, Slaveya, and Mariana Petkova. 2023. "Plant Traits of Tilia tomentosa Moench, Fraxinus excelsior L., and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold as a Proxy of Urbanization" Forests 14, no. 4: 800. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040800

APA Style

Petrova, S., & Petkova, M. (2023). Plant Traits of Tilia tomentosa Moench, Fraxinus excelsior L., and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold as a Proxy of Urbanization. Forests, 14(4), 800. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040800

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