Sulphur and some heavy metal contents in foliage of Corylus avellana and some roadside native plants in Ordu province, Turkey

Abstract

The concentration of sulphur and some heavy metals the leaves of Corylus avellana, Alopecurus myosuroides, Helleborus orientalis, Glechoma hederacea, Calamintha nepeta and Urtica dioica were determined around the "polluted (near highways)" and "non-polluted area (far from highways)" sites near Ordu province during summer of the year 2006. Significant differences were found for heavy metals between "polluted" and "non-polluted" areas. Heavy metal contents decreased in the order of Fe>Zn>Cu. The contents of Fe ranged from 188.9 to 519.9 ppm in the foliage of the studied species collected from "polluted area" were higher than its threshold values 13.5 to 115.5 ppm determined for same species in the "non-polluted area". High sulphur contents were found in studied species. The highest sulphur content was found in Alopecurus myosuroides. Overall, according to our findings plant species as Corylus avellana, Glechoma hederacea and Urtica dioica are a good bioindicators and can be used in elemental air pollution monitoring studies in urban-industrial conurbations.