Abstract
The amount of zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and manganese (Mn) on leaves were measured for four evergreen broad-leaved species (Quercus glauca, Ilex chinensis, Ligustrum japonicum, Eurya japonica) in the secondary forest at outskirt of Okayama city. The amount of heavy metal elements which adhered to the surface per leaves area were much more in 2yr-old leaves than in current leaves one. To elucidate how a leaf capture particulates of dusts wafting in the air, we observed the surface of leaves by using the scanning electron microscope. We found that many particulates of various size and chemistry were retained by the hyphae growing on the surface of a leaf. Number of particulates of dusts per square millimeter on current leaves and 2yr-old leaves were in the range of 262.2-507.4, 839.6-989.9, respectively. The dust density on 2yr-old leaves showed higher value than those of current leaves, and that was agreed with the amount of heavy metal elements on the surface of leaves.
