Plants play an important role in reducing the concentrations of sulfur-containing pollutants by means of biological absorption. The present study sampled 32 tree species, and measured the sulfur (S) contents in leaves and branches (in dry weight) of dominant species for three main forest types in the Pearl River Delta, specifically coniferous and broadleaved mixed restoration (CBMR) forest in Longfeng Mountain (5 species), Foshan city; seashore shelter evergreen broadleaved (SSEB) forest of Nansha Forest Plot (11 species) and secondary evergreen broadleaved (SEB) forest (16 species) in Maofeng Mountain, Guangzhou city. Firstly, we compared the S contents in leaves and branches of three main forest types. Our results showed that mean value of S content was (0.24±0.02)% in leaves and (0.14±0.02)% in branches for these tree species; and S content in leaves was significantly higher than that of in branches (P=0.000). A significant interspecific difference (P=0.000) of S content in leaves (and branches) was also detected. Among the three forest types, CBMR forest exhibited the highest S content both in leaves (0.39±0.13)% and branches (0.28±0.09)%, followed by SEB forest ((0.22±0.01)% in leaves, and (0.13±0.01)% in branches), and SSEB forest ((0.22±0.02)% in leaves, and (0.10±0.01)% in branches). Result of a Turkey Post Hoc Test showed that the amount of S elements absorbed by tree organs in CBMR forest was significantly higher than that of in SEB forest and SSEB forest, which was generally consistent with the pattern of atmospheric S-containing pollutants in heterogeneous environment in the Pearl River Delta. Secondly, we attempted to compare the S content between closely related species as well as distantly related species. In closely related species (e.g., four species in Fabaceae, and three species in Lauraceae), S contents in leaves (and branches) exhibited a significant difference respectively. The results suggested that environmental filtering effect, rather than phylogenetic constraint effect, played a more important role in the S-absorption process at the Family level. Finally, we compared the S content in leaves and branches between native species and introduced species. For native and introduced tree species, no significant difference was detected in either leaves or branches, suggesting that local habitat may determine the physiological and ecological behaviors of tree species. In conclusion, the results from three analyses collectively showed that the differences of leaves and branches of dominant species in three main forest types in Guangzhou and Foshan reflected a general status of S pollution in the atmosphere. Our results implied important strategies for urban forest management that top priorities should be given to selection of tree species with higher ability of S-absorption and a combination of native and introduced tree species for urban afforestation.