Lead moves into and throughout ecosystems. The transport and distribution of lead from
major emission sources, both fixed and mobile are mainly through air. While most of the lead
discharged into air falls out near the source, about 20 percent is widely dispersed. Atmospheric
lead is deposited in vegetation, ground and water surfaces. Lead in air may be transferred to
plants directly through fallout or indirectly through up-take from the soil. Some species of plant
have the capacity to accumulate high concentrations of lead. The most dangerous, for both nature
and humans, are heavy metals. They affected negative on plants which belong to phytocenosis in
the city, causing their aging, yellowing and premature leaf fall, when the soil is polluted with
salts of heavy metals such as lead, copper, zinc. The problems of urban environment related to
heavy metals pollution are relevant to Chisinau.
The purpose of the study - to assess the level of lead accumulation in the leaf litter of
trees growing along roadsides in various areas of the city of Chisinau.
Methods. In number of the surveyed objects were included roadsides of 13 major streets
in all districts of Chisinau. Forest park on the Student’s street and park "Valley of Roses" served
as the control zones. For determination of the lead leaves were collected from the following
species of trees, as the most widely used in landscaping the city: Silver Lime (Tilia argentea
DC.), Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) and Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.).
Leaf samples were collected in mid-September 2012. Leaves were collected from trees growing
in different sections of the roadside, from the four sides of the plants at the same time (from 10
to 14 pm) in dry clear weather. Quantities of lead were detected by atomic absorption
spectroscopy (AAS).
Results. Levels of lead accumulated in the leaves of trees are provided in the table below.
Table 1. Lead content in the leaves of trees (mg/kg d.w.)

As seen from the result for the majority of plants the lead content is below 0.35 mg / kg. Plants
are considered normal for lead concentrations from 0.1 to 5.0 mg / kg of dry matter. According
to our data the lead content in the leaves of trees in different regions of city does not reach
phytotoxic values despite the high car traffic last years.