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Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Analysis of institutional authors

Izquierdo-Díaz MCorresponding AuthorBarrio-Parra FAuthorDe Miguel EAuthor

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April 17, 2023
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Article

Assessment of lettuces grown in urban areas for human consumption and as bioindicators of atmospheric pollution

Publicated to: ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY. 256 114883- - 2023-05-01 256(), DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.114883

Authors:

Izquierdo-Diaz, Miguel; Hansen, Veronika; Barrio-Parra, Fernando; De Miguel, Eduardo; You, Yawen; Magid, Jakob
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Affiliations

Københavns Universitet - Author
Univ Copenhagen, Fac Sci, Dept Plant & Environm Sci, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark - Author
Univ Hohenheim, Inst Crop Sci, D-70593 Stuttgart, Germany - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Prospecting & Environm Lab PROMEDIAM, Alenza 4, Madrid 28003, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
Universitat Hohenheim - Author
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Abstract

This study proposes using the network of urban gardens to grow vegetables and to monitor air quality, and it also evaluates whether food grown on a clean substrate in an urban environment is safe for consumption. For this purpose, lettuces were exposed to different degrees of air pollution in five locations in the city of Copenhagen, plus a reference site. Six specimens were placed at each site and, after the exposure period, half of each sample was washed. Subsamples were then digested by a total extraction method and a bioaccessible extraction method, and the concentration of 23 elements subsequently measured by ICP-MS. The results showed that exposed samples in areas of higher atmospheric pollution accumulated a larger amount of trace elements associated with typical urban sources. They also highlighted the importance of washing food to remove particles that adhere to their surface. However, bioaccessibility testing demonstrated the importance of including bioaccessibility in risk analyses and how this factor varies depending on the type of matrix. In this case, bioaccessibility was higher for plant tissue than for particulate matter. Lastly, metal concentrations in lettuce were compared with legal values and an analysis of daily intake showed that the levels in Copenhagen were within limits for the protection of human health.
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Keywords

bioaccessibilitycalciumfoliargeochemistryheavy-metalsparticlesphytomonitoringplantspm emissionstrace elementstrace-elementsurban agriculturevegetablesAir pollutantsAir pollutionAir qualityBioaccessibilityEnvironmental biomarkersEnvironmental monitoringEnvironmental pollutionHealth-riskHumansLactucaParticulate matterPhytomonitoringPm emissionsSustainable cities and communitiesTrace elementsUrban agriculture

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 9/106, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Toxicology. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.49. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.51 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-24, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 7
  • Scopus: 13
  • Europe PMC: 7
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-24:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 50.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 50 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 26.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 3 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/86936/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 133
  • Downloads: 52
Continuing with the social impact of the work, it is important to emphasize that, due to its content, it can be assigned to the area of interest of ODS 11 - sustainable cities and communities, with a probability of 79% according to the mBERT algorithm developed by Aurora University.
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Denmark; Germany.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (IZQUIERDO DIAZ, MIGUEL) .

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been IZQUIERDO DIAZ, MIGUEL.

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Project objectives

Esta aportación persigue los siguientes objetivos: analizar la viabilidad de utilizar jardines urbanos para cultivar verduras y monitorizar la calidad del aire; evaluar la seguridad alimentaria de cultivos en sustratos limpios en entornos urbanos; determinar la acumulación de elementos traza en lechugas expuestas a distintos niveles de contaminación atmosférica en cinco ubicaciones de Copenhague y un sitio de referencia; caracterizar la eficacia del lavado de muestras para eliminar partículas adheridas; comparar la bioaccesibilidad de metales en tejidos vegetales y materia particulada mediante métodos de extracción; y contrastar las concentraciones metálicas con valores legales para evaluar el riesgo para la salud humana.
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Most relevant results

El estudio evaluó la acumulación de elementos traza en lechugas cultivadas en diferentes zonas urbanas de Copenhague para consumo humano y como bioindicadores de contaminación atmosférica. Los resultados más relevantes fueron: (1) las lechugas expuestas en áreas con mayor contaminación atmosférica acumularon mayores concentraciones de elementos traza asociados a fuentes urbanas; (2) el lavado de las muestras redujo significativamente la cantidad de partículas adheridas en la superficie; (3) la bioaccesibilidad de los metales fue mayor en el tejido vegetal que en las partículas, evidenciando la necesidad de incluir este parámetro en análisis de riesgo; (4) las concentraciones metálicas detectadas cumplieron con los límites legales vigentes y el análisis de ingesta diaria indicó niveles seguros para la salud humana.
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