Phenolic compounds content in Pinus halepensis Mill. needles: a bioindicator of air pollution

Vanina Pasqualini , Christine Robles (1) , Suzanne Garzino (1) , Stephane Greff (1) , Anne Bousquet-Mélou (1) , Gilles Bonin (1)

1 IMEP - Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie

Foliar phenol concentrations (total and simple phenols) were determined in Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) needles collected in June 2000, from 6 sites affected by various forms of atmospheric pollutants (NO, NO 2 , NO x , O 3 and SO 2) monitored during two months. Results show an increase in total phenol content with exposure to sulphur dioxide and a reduction with exposure to nitrogen oxide pollution. p-Coumaric acid, syringic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid concentrations increase with exposure to nitrogen oxide pollution, whereas gallic acid and vanillin decrease in the presence respectively of sulphur dioxide and ozone. This in situ work confirms the major interest of using total and simple phenolic compounds of P. halepensis as biological indicators of air quality.

Keywords: Total phenolics; Simple phenolics; Air pollution; Aleppo pine

Domains: Environmental Sciences; Biodiversity and Ecology; Environmental Sciences; Environmental and Society; Environmental Sciences; Global Changes

Vanina Pasqualini, Christine Robles, Suzanne Garzino, Stephane Greff, Anne Bousquet-Mélou, et al.. Phenolic compounds content in Pinus halepensis Mill. needles: a bioindicator of air pollution. Chemosphere, 2003, 52 (1), pp.239 - 248. ⟨10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00268-6⟩. ⟨hal-01764124⟩