This study presents the first report on the elemental composition of five Mediterranean plant species (, , , and ) to trace industrial emissions in Taranto, Italy, a mixed-use industrial and urban setting. Potential metal sources include vehicular traffic, steel and cement plants, and a petrochemical refinery. Samples were collected from 29 sites covering the Tamburi-Lido Azzurro neighbourhood and the historical quarter Città Vecchia-Borgo. High concentrations of toxic metals were observed in all samples, with marked inter-species variability. Model based clustering identified two distinct groups, one dominated by pine needles with higher metal concentrations than the other group composed of the other four plant species. The contamination factor (CF) and pollution load index (PLI) indices which use background samples to standardise the level of pollution, were used to remove species effect allowing for direct site comparison. Spatial analysis of CF and PLI data identified pollution hotspots near industrial areas and major roads, with areas of little to no air pollution near green spaces. Statistical analysis of the CFs revealed the contribution of different sources to element emissions. Ni and Cr were primarily emitted from the steel plant and petrochemical refinery, while Fe and Al were associated with road traffic emissions, and geogenic elements Ca, Mg, K, and Na were linked to marine spray and Saharan dust. This study demonstrates that combining multiple plant species with pollution indices can be a cost-effective biomonitoring approach for assessing air pollution and creating a high-density spatial monitoring network.

中文翻译：

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使用地中海植物物种对城市工业环境（意大利塔兰托）进行空气污染生物监测

本研究提出了关于五种地中海植物物种（、、、和）元素组成的第一份报告，以追踪意大利塔兰托（一个混合用途的工业和城市环境）的工业排放。潜在的金属来源包括车辆交通、钢铁和水泥厂以及石化精炼厂。样本采集自 29 个地点，涵盖 Tamburi-Lido Azzurro 社区和历史街区 Città Vecchia-Borgo。所有样品中均观察到高浓度的有毒金属，且具有明显的物种间差异。基于模型的聚类确定了两个不同的组，一组以松针为主，其金属浓度高于另一组由其他四种植物组成的金属浓度。污染因子（CF）和污染负荷指数（PLI）指数使用背景样本来标准化污染水平，用于消除物种效应，以便进行直接现场比较。CF 和 PLI 数据的空间分析确定了工业区和主要道路附近的污染热点，以及绿地附近几乎没有空气污染的区域。CF 的统计分析揭示了不同来源对元素排放的贡献。镍和铬主要来自钢铁厂和石化精炼厂，而铁和铝与道路交通排放有关，地源元素钙、镁、钾和钠与海洋喷雾和撒哈拉沙尘有关。这项研究表明，将多种植物物种与污染指数相结合可以成为一种具有成本效益的生物监测方法，用于评估空气污染和创建高密度空间监测网络。