Bioindication of megalopolis park ecosystems under aerotechnogenic loading

Abstract This study focuses on the influence of motor transport on various indicators of park ecosystems and Taraxacum officinale Web., as well as on their applicability to the bioindication of the urban environments in the largest megalopolis of Ukraine, namely, Kyiv. Our investigations were carried out in 14 park ecosystems exposed to different levels of aerotechnogenic loading: low pollution level in Pushcha-Vodytsya (park) and outskirts, average pollution level alongseven roads with medium traffic and high pollution level along eight highways. Pollen indication, integration and statistical methods were used to identify the most sensitive indicators of the impact of air pollutants. The aim is to assess the impact of vehicle emissions on the state of park ecosystems in the metropolis using bioindication and GIS technologies. The effects of air pollution on green infrastructure at the level of cells, organisms, groups and ecosystems in time and space are revealed. Under the influence of aerotechnogenic pollution, there is a deterioration of trees, their drying, defoliation of crowns and deterioration of integral indicators of park ecosystems. Using QGIS (Free open source geographic information system, version 3.12.3 „București”, May 15, 2020), we have created maps for the spread of air pollutants. The highest levels of air pollution and damage to parks were concentrated in the central part of the city with dense buildings and near heavy traffic roads. The average daily maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of phytotoxicants exceeded 1.5 MACa.d. and depended on the terrain and directions of the prevailing winds. We registered degradation of the megalopolis ecological state by 19.3% for 7 years.