Abstract: Atmospheric particulate matter, regarded as the main source of smog and haze, causes a great impact on the environment and human health due to its complex composition. For scientific research in the atmospheric environment, it is an important issue to characterize the source, formation, migration and transformation processes of atmospheric particulate matter. In recent years, stable isotopic techniques are widely employed in tracing air pollutants. This paper aimed to review the studies related to stable isotopic composition of atmospheric particulate matter, and focused on the light stable isotopic composition of atmospheric particles, including the stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Combined with spatial and temporal variation of atmospheric particulate matter and some certain isotopic mathematical models, this paper analyzed and summarized the researches on the origin, formation, and contribution of components in atmospheric particulate matter, and discussed the developing trend of applications of stable isotopic techniques in the future study.

Key words: adversity resistance index, wheat (Triticum aestivum), principal component analysis, seed vigor