Concentration of trace elements in forest soil affected by former timber depot

Abstract

Certain parts of global forests show elevated concentrations of trace elements as a result of industry processes, places such as wood depots and plant protection products, which together degrade the forest environment. This paper examines a timber depot that used wood preservatives in World War II located in the Warcino Forest Inspectorate (Poland). It presents monitory findings on the degree to which the upper soil layer in the depot area has been contaminated by wood preservatives. Within two forest divisions, a network of soil extraction points was established, distinguished into three separate categories that demarcate the degrees of vegetation coverage and growth of the common pine. These were Area A (area with a pine stand that is several dozen years-old), Area B (areas with a pine stand that is approximately a dozen years-old) and Area C (areas without a pine stand). The Cu concentration in the surface categories was respectively 141.03/187.54/834.43 mg·kg−1. Above 600% in Cu concentration was noted in category C in comparison to category A. It was found that the content of most elements (B, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Zn) did not exceed the permissible values according to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment on soil quality standards; however, in the case of Cu, the limit values established for forest and agricultural soils were exceeded, with the highest Cu contents found in the ‘C’ category. The results obtained confirm that the wood protection chemicals, such as copper sulphate, affected the long-term pollution of forest soils.

Relevance of Soil Heavy Metal XRF Screening for Quality and Landscaping of Public Playgrounds

“…Arsenic was introduced into the environment by burning As-rich coal and by the utilization of arsenical compounds in agriculture, particularly pesticides in the form of simple inorganic As salts. Wood preservatives (e.g., chromated copper arsenate) still account for 30% of the world arsenic market [ 41 ], and were shown to contribute to soil pollution with Cu [ 42 ]. HM pollution of urban soil in Europe showed that elevated levels of the most common five heavy metals were 22% of anthropogenic enrichment (such as traffic and industry) while 44% were of geogenic enrichment [ 10 ].…”