摘要：A possible temporal correlation between agricultural work periods in the agrarian region
surrounding the city of Brussels, Belgium, and the characteristics of airborne particles measured in
Brussels' urban area was investigated. In this study a total of 37 chemical elements were found in the
airborne particles. During most of the wheat cropping period, high amounts of Al, Ba, Cl, Cu, Fe, S, Sb,
Si, Zr, Ni and Sr were found. The elements Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Na, Pb, Sb and Si were most prevalent during
the culturing of sugar-beet and endive. For the wheat crop, the largest diversity of chemical elements (i.e.
the number of different elements present in the airborne particles collected at a given time and place) was
obtained during the 'after-sowing period' and the lowest diversity was recorded during the 'sowing period'.
For sugar-beet and endive crops, the maximum diversity was found during the 'before-harvest period' and
the lowest diversity during the 'after-harvest period'. Our results lead to the preliminary conclusion that
most of the airborne particles in Brussels' urban area are produced from outside sources, and reveals a
strong correlation with specific phases of agricultural activity in the surrounding area.
