His dark materials: Quantifying the problem of dust (particulate matter) in the agricultural landscape of California

The composition and amounts of particulate matter (PM) vary greatly in the atmosphere and particulates can have major adverse impacts on human health. Since PM10 deposition to foliage can improve air quality, there have been a number of studies of PM10 amounts on the surface of urban vegetation. Much less is known about PM in agricultural areas, although PM10 can be harmful to vegetation and, for food crops, have the potential to be ingested. Here we have quantified PM across the agricultural landscape of California, measuring the amounts present on the foliage of 18 crops at 21 locations. The amounts of particulates present varied (0.17 to 6.9 gm-2) and PM loads on leaves in the south and east of the area were higher than those in the northern and westerly locations. Our findings suggest that the amounts of particulates on the surface of agricultural crops can be high; exceeding the usual range of values for urban areas. Our data indicate that agricultural crops grown in regions like California and the Mediterranean where summer rainfall is largely absent and drip rather than spray irrigation is used are more vulnerable to PM accumulation and to any adverse effects resulting from these deposits. Microscopic analysis of PM10 on foliage showed that in these agricultural areas wind-blown soil particles make up 74.2% of the PM10 present; this is thus a very significant source. A small number of microplastic particles (2.2%) were also identified on foliage. We suggest that PM and microplastics could impact food and forage quality and that more work is needed to examine PM deposition to crops and their range of impacts.