Accumulation of Major, Minor and Trace Elements in Pine Needles (Pinus nigra) in Vienna (Austria)

Abstract

Increasing heavy metal pollution in the environment and the fact that pine needles are good bio-monitors for air pollutants was the reason to investigate their accumulation in pine needles in Vienna (Austria). Pinus nigra is widespread over the city, thus allowing the study of different parameters influencing metal accumulation. The sampling sites were chosen based on traffic volume (low, medium, high). Fresh shoots were collected alongside one-year-old needles once per week from May to August 2015. The needle samples were washed and dried prior to acidic microwave-assisted digestion followed by quantitative determination using spectrometric methods. The investigation was focused on the following elements: Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, U, V, and Zn. The one-year-old needles mainly contained higher contents of elements than fresh shoots; in many cases, the values differed statistically significantly. By correlating needle elemental contents with the sampling site, statistically significant differences were registered for the majority of the investigated elements. These differences originate from the local traffic situation, soil elemental levels, translocation processes, and not traffic-related sources. No general trend of metal accumulation from spring to summer was registered.

Metal Detoxification in Land Plants: From Bryophytes to Vascular Plants. STATE of the Art and Opportunities

“…A range of publications deals with the accumulation of trace elements in needles of plants growing in contaminated areas, highlighting that plant behavior in metal uptake largely depends on the species, the metal considered and the environmental context. As for the latter, the presence of airborne pollution and soil elemental levels influence direct uptake via needles, root absorption and translocation processes [ 104 ]. For instance, four-year-old Pinus sylvestris plants resulted to be more sensitive to Ni and less to Cu, even though both metals determine injuries on fine roots and needles [ 105 ].…”