Biomonitoring of Mercury Contamination in Poland Based on Its Concentration in Scots Pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) Foliage

Bartłomiej Woś, Piotr Gruba, Jarosław Socha and Marcin Pietrzykowski
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Bartłomiej Woś: Department of Ecology and Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. 29 Listopada 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland
Piotr Gruba: Department of Ecology and Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. 29 Listopada 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland
Jarosław Socha: Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. 29 Listopada 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland
Marcin Pietrzykowski: Department of Ecology and Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. 29 Listopada 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: This work evaluates current mercury (Hg) contamination in Poland, represented by the Hg concentrations in Scots pine foliage. Samples were collected over 295 investigation plots in monitoring grids throughout Poland, from pines aged between 12 and 147 years. Analyses were conducted with consideration of bioclimatic factors and soil properties. Concentrations in the pine foliage did not exceed the values characteristic of an ecosystem unaffected by industrial pollution, ranging from 0.0032 to 0.0252 mg kg ?1 dry mass. However, pine stands located in western and central Poland, and in the northwest near the Baltic Sea, exhibited higher Hg concentrations in foliage than in eastern regions. Hg content in foliage depends on the mean temperature of the driest quarter, as well as on Hg content in soils. This indicates that the periods of drought observed in recent years in Poland may affect Hg concentrations in pine foliage.

Keywords: trace elements; mercury; pollution; biomonitoring; Scots pine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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