Pinus sylvestris as a bio-indicator of territory pollution from aluminum smelter emissions

Abstract

The study demonstrates the efficiency of using Pinus sylvestris L. as a bio-indicator of polluting substances that enter the environment with the emission of a large aluminum smelter. Recent research has demonstrated that pollution from aluminum smelter emissions covers a vast territory. The highest content of polluting elements is registered at a distance of 3 km from the smelter, with maximum concentrations found in the industrial zone (0.5 km from the smelter). The farther from the aluminum smelter, the lower the amount of polluting elements in the needles, although the F level still exceeds the background values at a distance of about 60 km from the source, the levels of Zn, Pb, and Cd up to 50 km, S up to 40 km, and Fe and Cu up to 35 km mostly in north-eastern and south-eastern directions correlating with prevailing atmospheric transfer of the emissions. Pollution with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is also most expressed at a distance of 3 km from the smelter, then it gradually decreases to coincide with background concentrations at a distance of more than 60 km. This is confirmed by changes in overall PAH content and in qualitative and quantitative compositions of individual PAHs. The greatest number of components (17 substances) has been found in samples from the territory of the plant area: phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, anthracene, fluorene, benz[а]anthracene, benz[b]fluoranthene, benz[k]fluoranthene, benz[а]pyrene, benz[е]pyrene, perylene, indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene, benz[g,h,i]perylene, and dibenz[a,h]anthracene. The farther away from the plant, the lower the number of components detected in PAH fraction, mainly due to the fact that the concentrations of most toxic PAHs with five or six aromatic rings (benz[b]fluoranthene, benz[k]fluoranthene, benz[а]pyrene, benz[е]pyrene, perylene, indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene, benz[g,h,i]perylene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene) fall below the method detection limit. High concentrations of benz[а]pyrene and perylene in pine needles at the territories adjacent to the aluminum smelter confirm the technogenic character of forest pollution by PAHs.

Impact of forest fire on radial growth of tree rings and their element concentrations of Pinus sylvestris and Larix gmelinii in northern China

“…The accumulation of elements in the xylem of trees is mainly influenced by physiological characteristics of trees, such as the storage and transport of elements, and environmental factors (Kalugina et al, 2017;Zakrzewska and Klimek, 2018). Trees can absorb numerous elements from the environment into their wood tissues through their roots, leaves and bark (Solgi et al, 2020).…”

Anatomical and morphological changes in Pinus sylvestris and Larix sibirica needles under impact of emissions from a large aluminum enterprise

“…The most signi cant of them include the impact of technogenic emissions from various industrial enterprises (Aamlid and Venn 1993;Alexeyev 1995;Gytarsky et al 1995;Tømmervik et al 2003;Mikhailova et al 2008). The negative impact of aluminum smelter emissions on boreal forests in Russia and other countries has been studied for a long time (Vike and Hbjorg 1995;Vike 1999;Kalugina et al 2017). Such active studies are obviously inspired by high toxicity of pollutants emitted by aluminum smelter and their intense damaging effect on forest ecosystems (Rozhkov and Mikhailova 1993).…”

Selection of Trees and Shrubs for Planting Territories Polluted by Technogenic Fluorides

“…Проводимые нами мониторинговые исследования показывают, что загрязнение атмосферного воздуха фторидами, как газообразными, так и в составе твердого аэрозоля, не носит локального характера, то есть регистрируется не только вблизи алюминиевых заводов, но и на смежных территориях, где располагаются жилые районы городов. Например, это показано для Братска и Шелехова [4,5]. Поэтому представляется весьма актуальным улучшение среды этих и других городов через создание эффективного защитного зеленого фонда, слагаемого из растений, наиболее устойчивых к техногенному загрязнению фтором и способных к высокой его аккумуляции.…”