Thallium and potentially toxic elements distribution in pine needles, tree rings and soils around a pyrite mine and indication for environmental pollution

Tree-rings analysis to reconstruct atmospheric mercury contamination at a historical mining site

“…PCA analysis allowed for distinguishing Hg, Tl, and Pb from the other PTEs, suggesting a common origin of these elements’ contents in tree rings. Several studies demonstrated the accumulation pathway via foliage of PTEs emitted by various industrial activities ( Wright et al., 2014 ; Odabasi et al., 2016 ; Austruy et al., 2019 ; Arteau et al., 2020 ; Wang et al., 2022 ) and, in a first attempt to contextualize our data, Tl and Pb may have had environmental behaviors like those of Hg, at least during ore smelting activities. Polymetallic sulfide mineralizations are present in association with cinnabar deposits of Mt.…”

“…A survey on mineral transformations and partitioning during pyrite ores roasting in the Chinese sulfuric acid plant of Yunfu pointed out that sulfide-bound Cd, Tl, and Pb, as semi-volatile elements in combustion processes, are significantly vaporized (completely in the case of Tl), before their gaseous species adsorb or condense on fine particles in the flue gas ( Yang et al., 2009 ). The feedstock of this plant comes from the nearby Yunfu pyrite mine, the object of a more recent study on environmental pollution around it, where PTEs in needles, tree rings and soils of selected pine trees were measured; the data showed a strong positive correlation between Tl and Pb in soils and PCA analysis confirmed that Tl, Pb, Cd, and As in tree rings were mostly derived from pine needles ( Wang et al., 2022 ). Similarly, the comparison of chemical and isotopic composition of tree rings and soils from a mining-smelting area of the Copperbelt province in Zambia has been found effective to identify the source of Pb in wood from the interception (foliar, bark) uptake of this metal by trees ( Mihaljevič et al., 2011 ).…”

“…Similarly, the comparison of chemical and isotopic composition of tree rings and soils from a mining-smelting area of the Copperbelt province in Zambia has been found effective to identify the source of Pb in wood from the interception (foliar, bark) uptake of this metal by trees ( Mihaljevič et al., 2011 ). On the other hand, depositions of atmospheric emissions from smelters can induce pedogeochemical modifications, such as acidification, that increase metal(loid)s bioavailability from soil and claim a more in-depth investigation of the complex processes driving PTEs from emissions to their corresponding recording by trees ( Aznar et al., 2008 ; Arteau et al., 2020 ; Binda et al., 2021 ; Wang et al., 2022 ). In these circumstances, correlations between concentrations of gaseous atmopheric elements, such as Hg, with other PTEs in tree rings may also result from a combination of foliar and root uptake ( Vaněk et al., 2011 ).…”

The ecophysiological response of Bombax ceiba L. to soil of industrial areas

“…ceiba was exhibited with the T5 treatment soil. Previously studies illustrated that the industrially polluted soil of mining area influenced on needles and tree ring of pine [21]. 1.…”

Chemical Elements Recorded by Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. Tree Rings Reveal Trends of Pollution History in Harbin, China

“…In a similar study, Tl patterns in Pinus sylvestris L. tree rings did not correspond to changes in Tl deposition, suggesting the lateral translocation of Tl in the sapwood and its accumulation at the heartwood-sapwood boundary [44]. In our study, several reasons could explain its trend: (i) high concentration of Tl in the 1980s when the cement production started because of depletion of the so-called "non-plant-available fractions" of Tl by hyperaccumulator plants, such as in the case of some Brassicaceae species [45]; (ii) occurrence of lateral translocation of Tl and its storage in the heartwood due to its high toxicity, when heartwood functions as waste storage [46]; (iii) biogeochemical affinity with K, Mg and Mn which could influence the transport of Tl in the tree rings [47]; (iv) implementation of Tl removal strategies (such as the use of Mn in adsorbing Tl from wastewater; in this case, Mn has a significant negative correlation with Tl), although such implementations only started in the 2000s [43]; and (v) a decline/improvement in the cement production of the quarry (unfortunately we have no data available to support this, but it is rather unlikely to be the case). Thus, our results cannot guarantee that the use of dendrochemistry for tracing the history of Tl is fully reliable; however, they demonstrated that Q. mongolica was accumulating this heavy metal, emitted from a pollution source of Tl, i.e., a cement quarry, which was closer to the trees at the control site than to the trees at the polluted site.…”