Town settlements have different load level by emissions originated mostly from
transport, industry and heating system. Their environmental and climate
conditions are more or less changed that effect to growth, physiology and vigor of
woody plants at the city public vegetation areas. Our study on determining the
impact of urban environment on the tree health status was focused on the
quantities of nutrients and main components of the pigment complex –
chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids. Leaves of Acer platanoides L.,
Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Betula pendula Roth. were sampled from urban
areas with different type of anthropogenic pressure in the town of Plovdiv
(Bulgaria). Concentrations of the elements Ca, K, Mg, N, Na, P, and S were
analyzed by ICP-MS. Health condition of trees in the city parks and suburban
areas was acceptable, but in the central part and close to the industrial area it was
non-satisfactory. This preliminary research pointed ecophysiological tools as
useful to develop new criteria for sustainable urban arboriculture, including
species selection (based on stress tolerance criteria), nursery hardening and
preconditioning, and care after planting