Soil and Leaf Lead Concentrations in the Lincoln Park Area

Lead contamination in urban plants and soils has been a common occurrence as a result of human activities. The first objective of this experiment was to study the relationship between lead in soils and leaves: what is the source of lead in leaves found in urban trees? More specifically, does lead enter plants predominantly from the soil? It was hypothesized that if accumulation of lead occurred in the soil there would be a significant positive correlation between leaf and soil metal content. The second objective was to test if lead soil hotspots were associated with lead sources that have been banned: automobile exhaust and lead paint use