Plant leaves are covered by a thin, lipoidal, non-living membrane called the cuticle. Forming the interface between plants and the atmospheric environment, it presents an effective barrier to pollutant entry.
The book provides a comprehensive review of air pollutant effects on the cuticle and covers the following thematic areas: - Cuticular physicochemical characteristics, physiological, regulatory, and protective roles. - Effects, mechanisms, and consequences of air pollutant interaction with leaf cuticles. - Non-anthropogenic and environmental influences on the cuticle and potential of the cuticle for biomonitoring and critical levels mapping. - New developments in experimental methodology and analytical techniques.