CHARACTERISTICS OF PINE NEEDLES EXPOSED TO POLLUTION IN SILESIA, POLAND: CARBON ISOTOPES, iWUE, AND TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS IN PINE NEEDLES

Abstract

Here, we present the results of carbon isotope and elemental analysis of one-year-old Pinus Sylvestris L. needles collected in 2021 from 10 sampling sites in a highly populated and industrialized area of Poland. The needles were exposed to air pollution for one year. The chemical analysis of the samples was performed using different methods: radiocarbon analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry, stable isotope analysis using isotope ratio mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. Variations in the carbon isotopes and elemental composition of pine needles were due to a mixture of carbon dioxide originating from different sources such as households, vehicle traffic, and industrial factories.

Strategy of Coniferous Needle Biorefinery into Value-Added Products to Implement Circular Bioeconomy Concepts in Forestry Side Stream Utilization

“…Water, especially hot water, can be considered one of the most powerful and sustainable solvents for the processing of coniferous biomass. It provides the possibility to isolate mineral substances, amino acids, proteins, monosaccharides, low-molecular-weight polysaccharides, vitamins, a significant part of polyphenolics, low-molecular-weight organic acids, and many other substances [102]. Technologies, such as ultrasound, cavitation, treatment with microwaves, and the use of pressurized reactors operating under subcritical water conditions, have significantly improved the efficiency of aqueous extraction.…”

Analysis of Trace Elements in Tree Rings of Pines Growing Nearby Steelwork in Southern Poland during the Industrial and Post-Industrial Periods

“…The transport of different elements by pine has been described in detail by Bialobok et al [16]. Review articles in the scientific literature have shown that tree foliage can act as an 'air filter' and trees can be used to monitor heavy metal pollution [12,13,[17][18][19]. Some studies show that trees may not provide reliable information on the yearly scale of past variations in contaminated soils, and soil acidity also plays a key role because the absorption of elements.…”

“…The variability in tree-ring width, stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, and radiocarbon of annual tree rings of Pinus sylvestris L. in different parts of the highly populated and industrialized Silesia region have recently been investigated [10,11,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23], with the use of complementary dendrochronological and mass spectrometric methods since about 15 years. However, until now, the elemental composition of annual tree rings in Silesia was conducted only in one sampling site-near Kędzierzyn-Koźle [22].…”