Concentrations of Inorganic and Organic Pollutants in Forest Soils as an Archive of Anthropogenic Inputs in the State of Brandenburg, Germany

Abstract

An important component of the National Forest Soils Inventory (NFSI) is the investigation of inorganic and organic pollutants. Forests are able to filter out large quantities of these substances from the atmosphere and incorporate them into the soil for a long time. The aim of this study was the integrative evaluation of organic and inorganic pollutant concentrations in forest soils in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. With the help of principle component analysis, the pollutant concentrations can essentially be explained by three significant environmental components, which explain 76% of the total variance of all pollutants examined within the scope of the NFSI. The first component characterizes the extent of the atmospheric pollution caused by flue gases and fly ash from lignite combustion in the 1970s and 1980s and is mainly charged by the organic pollutants HCB and PAH, and the elements arsenic and chromium. This component shows positive relation to both spatially interpolated calcium-deposition data from the 1980s (as an indicator for the dust emission from coal combustion) and crown defoliation data of pine stands from the forest condition survey in the early 1990s. The depositions of zinc and cadmium from industrial sources, vehicle traffic and the use of fertilizers in agriculture mainly characterize the second principle component. The use of the pesticides DDT and lindane in the early 1980s and the associated pollutants input into the forest soils are expressed by the third component. In expanding the term archiving function of soils, the results illustrate their particular importance for the long-term archiving of anthropogenic inputs and the associated potential stress factors for forests.

Dissent in the sediment? Lake sediments as archives of short- and long-range impact of anthropogenic activities in northeastern Germany

“…20 Mg·a −1 in 1977 (Heinisch et al 1993 ). Handout and assumed applications stayed low until 1983/1984, when the massive spread of the nun moth ( Lymantria monacha ) and associated pests (Riek et al 2021 ) in forests of the northern GDR forced the government to divert from the substitution plan. Unofficially, 260,000 ha of the 600,000 ha of infested stands were aviochemically treated with DDT/lindane formulations.…”

“…Another important point is the high capability of forest soils to store hydrophobic substances (Holoubek et al 2009 ; Riek et al 2021 ). This can lead to reemissions long after the last application.…”

Dissent in the Sediment? – Lake sediments as indicators of short- and long-range impact of anthropogenic activities in northeastern Germany

“…Handout and assumed applications stayed low until 1983/84, when the massive spread of the nun moth (Lymantria monacha) and associated pests (e.g. pine beauty moth Panolis flammea, European pine shoot moth Rhyacionia buoliana, bark beetle Scolytinae; Riek et al 2021) in forests of the northern GDR forced the government to divert from the substitution plan. Unofficially, 260,000 ha of the 600,000 ha of infested stands were aviochemically treated with DDT/lindane formulations.…”

“…Another important point is the high capability of forest soils to store hydrophobic substances (Holoubek et al 2009;Riek et al 2021). This can lead to reemissions long after the last application.…”

Dissent in the Sediment? – Lake sediments as archives of short- and long-range impact of anthropogenic activities in northeastern Germany

“…20 Mg•a −1 in 1977 (Heinisch et al 1993). Handout and assumed applications stayed low until 1983/1984, when the massive spread of the nun moth (Lymantria monacha) and associated pests (Riek et al 2021) in forests of the northern GDR forced the government to divert from the substitution plan. Unofficially, 260,000 ha of the 600,000 ha of infested stands were aviochemically treated with DDT/lindane formulations.…”