INDICATION OF THE CONDITION OF VEGETATION IN MAGNITOGORSK FOR ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR AND IMPROVING ITS MONITORING SYSTEM

Abstract

In 2016, specialists from the research institute UralNII Ecology conducted a scientific experiment in Magnitogorsk to assess the impact of atmospheric air pollution on vegetation in different parts of the city. The purpose of the study was to assess the condition of vegetation in different areas by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence and carotenoid content in ash maple leaves in order to develop proposals for modernizing the atmospheric air monitoring system in Magnitogorsk. Based on the modeling of pollutant dispersion in the atmospheric air, 13 points were identified in the territory of Magnitogorsk, where experimental samples of ash-leaved maple were collected for further research in the laboratory (five points directly bordering the main site of the city-forming enterprise and the territories of its large subsidiaries; five points located in the residential area in the left-bank industrial hub; two points located in the residential area in the right-bank part of the city; one point in the residential area of the city, most remote from the city-forming enterprise and characterizing the ‘background’ value of atmospheric air pollution). During the research, the relative index of delayed chlorophyll fluorescence (DCF) and the content of photosynthetic pigments (carotenoids) were determined in the leaves of the ash-leaved maple. As a result of the studies, the areas of the city of Magnitogorsk were identified whereatmospheric air pollution had the greatest and the least impact on vegetation. The purpose of the study was achieved. Theresults of the studies were subsequently used in the development of proposals for the modernization of the atmosphericair monitoring system in Magnitogorsk. It is concluded that it is possible to use the results of the study of vegetation, namely the DCF values and the content of carotenoids, as an indirect method for assessing the effectiveness of the existing network of POPs.