American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2021, 12, 163-185 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ajps ISSN Online: 2158-2750 ISSN Print: 2158-2742 DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2021.121010 Jan. 29, 2021 163 American Journal of Plant Sciences Metal Accumulation Capability by Platanus acerifolia (Aiton) Willd., Ailantus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Quercus ilex L., Largely Distributed in the City of Rome Loretta Gratani 1* , Olena Vasheka 2 , Francesco Bigaran 1 1 Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy 2 Department of Plant Biology, Educational and Scientific Centre, “Institute of Biology and Medicine” Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine Abstract The main of the research was to analyze the leaf metal accumulation capabil- ity of Platanus acerifolia (Aiton) Willd., Ailantus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Quercus ilex L., largely distributed in Rome. In addition, metal concentration was analyzed in the soil, sampling sites were chosen in historical parks (A sites) and high traffic level sites (B sites). The results highlight significant higher leaf and soil metal concentrations in B than in A sites. The ratio between metal concentration in leaves and soils (Bi- ological Absorption Coefficient, BAC) for all the considered sites was signifi- cantly different among the species. Morphological and anatomical leaf traits of the considered species show significant differences in A and B sites in re- sponse to traffic level. Overall, the results highlight the importance of the se- lection of tree species in urban areas for their ability to lower pollution levels. Keywords Metals, Leaf, Soil, Urban Areas, Traffic Density, Portable X-Ray Fluorescence 1. Introduction Atmospheric pollution is one of the most important problems in urban areas worldwide [1] [2] [3] having significant impacts on the population health, par- ticularly in cities. In Europe, more than 85% of people are exposed to air pollu- How to cite this paper: Gratani, L., Vashe- ka, O. and Bigaran, F. (2021) Metal Accu- mulation Capability by Platanus acerifolia (Aiton) Willd., Ailantus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Quer- cus ilex L., Largely Distributed in the City of Rome. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 12, 163-185. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2021.121010 Received: October 22, 2020 Accepted: January 26, 2021 Published: January 29, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access