Green areas as filters of atmospheric pollution of vehicular emissions in the city of São Paulo

Abstract

The air pollution is determined by fixed and mobile sources, being this last one characterized as the main pollutant. The automotive vehicles are pollutant mobile sources, and the state of São Paulo holds 40% of the automotive fleet of the country. Among the main pollutants related to the combustion process, there are the thin inhalable particles (MP2,5) and inhalable particles (MP10). The particle material is a complex solid mixture with reduced diameter, whose components present physical and chemical distinct characteristics. The bio-monitoring occurs when live organisms are used to achieve an information about existent characteristics inside the biosphere environment. The biomonitoring technique using tree barks create a space distribution of the pollutants. The species chosen for the development of the project have been the Tipuana tipu and Pluviosa poincianella (former Caesalpinia pluviosa) by presenting wide distribution in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The purpose of this study is to verify if the green spaces serve as filter of the air pollution that comes from traffic and if there is a connection between the kind of vegetation and the amount of chemical elements found on the tree barks. (AU)