Within the research project called CHIOMA (Cultural Heritage Investigations and Observations: a Multidisciplinary Approach), a team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, the University of (UniSI) and the National Academy of Lincei, throughchemical and magnetic investigations on leaves and lichens, used as biological accumulators of polluting atmospheric particulates, determined the diffusion and type of vehicular dust emitted in some streets of Rome (along Via dei Cerchi) and on the archaeological areas of the Palatine.
The research employed sophisticated multidisciplinary environmental techniques, aimed at determining the diffusion of fine particles (PM), that can cause damage, abrasion, and deterioration in cultural property which characterizes that area.
The data on the leaves were integrated with those deriving from the exposure of lichen transplants placed at increasing distances from Via dei Cerchi, up to the Schola Praeconum, in recent months the subject of an enhancement intervention as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
Lo study entitled “Nature-based solutions for monitoring the impact of vehicular particulate matter and for the preventive conservation of the Palatine Hill archaeological site in Rome, Italy” has been recently published in the “Science of the Total Environment” journal and has shown that the concentration of metal particles bioaccumulated by lichens and leaves depends on the longitudinal distance from the road, with mild influence of the height compared to the road surface.
Therefore, to provide the best ecosystem services for preventive conservation of historical and cultural assets, trees must be positioned as close as possible to the road surface.
The results suggest that leaves accumulate all components of PM, thus limiting the adverse effects of its fractions, whether atmospheric or linked to soil and resuspension, while lichens are the best bioindicators of only the airborne component of PM.
Aldo Winkler, head of the INGV Paleomagnetism Laboratory, said: “This project introduces magnetic biomonitoring methodologies in an archaeological area of unique prestige in the world, providing precious indications on the ability of leaves, depending on the species and tree location, to accumulate polluting particulates, thus contributing to limiting their the diffusion and harmful effects on cultural heritage”.
Further studies on the biomonitoring of air pollution are ongoing in the Museums of Buenos Aires, the Brunelleschi’s dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York, to obtain, on different types of highly urbanized contexts, original data of great interest for the preventive conservation of cultural heritage.
