Element contents in mountain birch leaves, bark and wood under different anthropogenic and geogenic conditions
- Author(s)
- Clemens Reimann, Arnold Arnoldussen, Tor Erik Finne, Friedrich Koller, Øystein Nordgulen, Peter Englmaier
- Abstract
Forty samples each of leaves, bark and wood of mountain birch (Betula pubescens EHRH.) were collected along a 120 km long south-north transect running through Norway's largest city, Oslo. Concentrations of 26 chemical elements (Ag, As, Au, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sb, Sr, Ti and Zn) as well as loss on ignition for the three sample materials are reported. By far the highest concentrations of most elements appear in the leaves. Prominent exceptions are Au and Pb, both of which are enriched in wood, indicating the importance of root-uptake, and As which is enriched in bark. Bedrock lithology, ore occurrences, soil pH and urban contamination all have a visible influence on the element concentrations in mountain birch leaves, bark and wood. It is often impossible to differentiate between all the factors that can influence element concentrations in the three sample materials. Mountain birch bark shows the strongest anthropogenic impact of the city of Oslo for dust-related elements (Fe, La, Ti) and Sb. Even in mountain birch bark the influence of the city on element concentrations is no longer discernible from the background variation at a distance of less than 20 km from Oslo centre. Compared to terrestrial moss, mountain birch appears to be of little value as a biomonitor for urban contamination
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Lithospheric Research
- External organisation(s)
- Geological Survey of Norway, Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute
- Journal
- Applied Geochemistry
- Volume
- 22
- Pages
- 1549-1566
- No. of pages
- 18
- ISSN
- 0883-2927
- Publication date
- 2007
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 1051 Geology, Mineralogy
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 15 - Life on Land
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/c6b9d972-15ce-4b4a-be34-1a594f1ead7f