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A Comparison of Tree Rings and Peat Deposit Geochemical Archives in the Vicinity of a Lead Smelter

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Abstract

The content of Pb, Cd, Mn, K, Ca, Mg and 206Pb/207Pb isotope ratios in spruce tree rings (Picea abies) and peat cores from the Brdy Hills area (10 km W of the Pb smelter) were compared with those in spruce tree rings in the vicinity of the Pb smelter. Maximum Pb content in tree rings (up to 60 mg kg−1 Pb) corresponds to a peak of metallurgical production in the mid 1970s and highest smelter emissions in the early 1970s. The Pb concentration curves obtained from peat deposit profiles closely correlate with the Pb concentrations in tree rings at both sampling sites. The small differences between the individual tree cores, with the identical general trend, may be attributed to the difference in distance from the smelter and the altitude of each sampling site. Similar behaviour to Pb can be observed for Cd and Ca. Lead isotope composition in tree rings (206Pb/207Pb ~1.143–1.174) is controlled mainly by the smelter emissions (206Pb/207Pb ~1.16–1.17), with the exception of the youngest segments from the more distant locality from the smelter, which yield isotopic signatures corresponding to car-emission Pb (206Pb/207Pb ~1.143–1.150). Higher content of Mn, Mg and Ca in tree rings corresponding to the 1970s and 1980s may be related to soil chemistry changes caused by acid deposition. In addition, an increase in K, Mg (and in some cases also Mn) in the youngest part of wood cores corresponds to the physiological processes in sapwood, and may be influenced by a decrease in Pb in organic soil horizons, which limited the cycling of basic inorganic nutrients.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Marie Fayadová for assistance with laboratory work. The funding for this study was provided by Charles University (Nr. 271/2006/B-GEO) and the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (Nr. MSM0021620855). The reviews of two anonymous reviewers assisted greatly in improving the original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic

    Martin Mihaljevič, Milan Zuna & Vojtěch Ettler

  2. Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemistry Teaching, Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia, Studentská 13, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Vladislav Chrastný

  3. Laboratories of Geological Institutes, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Šebek & Ladislav Strnad

  4. Institute of Botany, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, 252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Kyncl

Authors
  1. Martin Mihaljevič
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  2. Milan Zuna
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  3. Vojtěch Ettler
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  4. Vladislav Chrastný
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  5. Ondřej Šebek
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  6. Ladislav Strnad
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  7. Tomáš Kyncl
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Correspondence to Martin Mihaljevič.

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Mihaljevič, M., Zuna, M., Ettler, V. et al. A Comparison of Tree Rings and Peat Deposit Geochemical Archives in the Vicinity of a Lead Smelter. Water Air Soil Pollut 188, 311–321 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9546-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9546-2

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