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46674 
Book/Book Chapter 
Pollutant uptake by plants 
Smith, WH 
1984 
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 
New York, NY 
Air pollution and plant life 
is a chapter of 759214 Air pollution and plant life
Pollutant transfer from the atmosphere to natural or artificial (e.g. agricultural) plant communities is a very complex and incompletely understood process. Atmospheric contaminants may be removed by both the soil and vegetative compartments of an ecosystem through a variety of mechanisms. The primary processes are precipitation scavenging, chemical reaction, dry deposition (sedimentation), and absorption (impaction) (Rasmussen et at., 1974). Loss via precipitation may occur as 'rainout', which involves both absorption and the capture of particles by falling raindrops. Primary and secondary contaminants are subject to a large number of chemical reactions in the atmosphere, that may ultimately transform them into an aerosol or oxidized or reduced product. Attachment by aerosols and subsequent deposition on the surface of the earth is termed 'dry deposition'. Absorption by water bodies, soils, or vegetation, at the surface of the earth, is an additional extremely important removal process. 
Treshow, M.