Variation of major elements and heavy metals occurrence in hybrid aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx. × P. tremula L.) tree rings in marginal land

Abstract

Biogeosciences and Forestry Biogeosciences and Forestry Variation of major elements and heavy metals occurrence in hybrid aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx. × P. tremula L.) tree rings in marginal land Arta Bardule (1-2) , Maris Bertins (2) , Lauma Busa (2) , Dagnija Lazdina (1) , Arturs Viksna (2) , Michaela Tvrdonova (3-4) , Viktor Kanicky (3-4) , Tomas Vaculovic (3-4) Fast growing tree species such as Populus spp. in short rotation woody crop (SRWC) systems could be an environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach to ensure sustainable biomass production and mitigate the negative impacts on the environment caused by more intensive management aimed to promote additional biomass increment. Knowledge on variation of major biologically important elements' and toxic heavy metals' occurrence in fertilised hybrid aspen tree rings in marginal land may have important and relevant implications for the management practice and evaluation of element fluxes in SRWC ecosystems. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to determine the relative amount of major elements (K, Ca, Mg, P) and heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Pb) in stem wood plane on straight line trajectory starting from pith to bark with measurement step 0.1 mm. While inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine average content of the mentioned elements in mechanically separated tree rings to quantify data obtained using LA-ICP-MS method and expressed in relative units. Stem disc samples were collected from six year old hybrid aspen trees growing in marginal agricultural land in the central part of Latvia (hemi-boreal climate conditions) that were initially fertilised with biogas production residues, sewage sludge, and wood ash. We concluded that the content of analysed major elements and heavy metals in the hybrid aspen tree rings varied considerably not only within the analysed stem plane (across tree rings) of one sample tree, but also within one annual ring with significant differences between the content of major elements in earlywood and latewood. Nevertheless, the results of the content of major elements and heavy metals in hybrid aspen tree rings highlighted the significant impact of the initially used fertiliser (especially wood ash) on the average content of elements. Hybrid aspens can be considered bioindicators of both the management activities and general growing conditions even if soil pH is close to neutrality, suggesting a limited mobility of the heavy metals.

Rare‐earth element phytoextraction efficiency in southern Chinese mines under different clipping intensities using a co‐cropping system (Dicranopteris pedata and Pinus massoniana)

“…As forest stand age increases, the understory vegetation of the P. massoniana forest gradually develops, litter increases and the functional restoration of soils is gradually enhanced by reduced soil erosion (Liu et al, 2016). These results are similar to those of a recent study (Bardule et al, 2020), possibly because of reduced soil erosion. It is evident that the availability of soil REEs increases as the understory plants develop, and a higher growth rate of P. massoniana leads to higher REE extraction, compensating for the effect of biological dilution.…”

“…As forest stand age increases, the understory vegetation of the P. massoniana forest gradually develops, litter increases and the functional restoration of soils is gradually enhanced by reduced soil erosion (Liu et al, 2016). These results are similar to those of a recent study (Bardule et al, 2020), possibly because of reduced soil erosion.…”

Inorganic Element Determination of Romanian Populus nigra L. Buds Extract and In Vitro Antiproliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Evaluation on A549 Human Lung Cancer Cell Line

“…Poplar is known to be an efficient bio-accumulator of soil chemicals, allowing its use to remedy the soil of toxic elements; because of this property, it was the subject of many studies [ 45 , 46 , 47 ]. However, its ability to bioaccumulate raises concerns about the possible adverse health effects of products derived from this plant that are ingested by humans, in various forms, used for medicinal purposes.…”

Phytoremediation capacity of hybrid aspen at sites affected by industry and agriculture

“…Furthermore, some heavy metals are subjected to bioaccumulation and may pose a risk to human health when transferred to the food chain (Sherene, 2010). Heavy metals cause a wide variety of changes in plants (Malá et al, 2007;Zalesny, 2007;Popova, 2016; Bardule et al, 2020;Bhat et al, 2022). Vegetation is very sensitive to environmental disturbances, including anthropogenic pollution (high content of heavy metals, such as As, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn in air and soil), which tend to affect physiological, biochemical, anatomical and morphological transformations of their systems (Popova, 2016).…”