To further increase understanding of the mechanisms responsible for air-surface exchange processes, the depuration of adsorbed individual fluorene (Flu), anthracene (Ant), phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene (Fla), and pyrene (Pyr) from the leaf surfaces of living Aegiceras corniculatum (Ac) and Kandelia obovata (Ko) seedlings were in situ investigated in real time using laser-induced nanosecond time-resolved fluorescence (LITRF) system. Depuration of the PAHs from the leaf surfaces of the two mangrove seedlings included a rapid and a slow phase, and both of them followed first-order kinetics. Furthermore, significant inter-species and inter-chemical variability existed in terms of the elimination rates and the remaining PAHs residues during the two phases. The rapid phase mainly represented a fast volatilization, of which the volatilization rates moderately correlate with PAH molecular weight, while combined effect of volatilization and photolysis was the dominant mechanism for the slow phase. The retainment of PAHs on the leaf surfaces was associated with the plant species and physicochemical properties of PAHs, especially log K-OA. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.