Concentration of trace elements in forest soil affected by former timber depot.

Certain parts of global forests show elevated concentrations of trace elements as a result of industry processes, places such as wood depots and plant protection products, which together degrade the forest environment. This paper examines a timber depot that used wood preservatives in World War II located in the Warcino Forest Inspectorate (Poland). It presents monitory findings on the degree to which the upper soil layer in the depot area has been contaminated by wood preservatives. Within two forest divisions, a network of soil extraction points was established, distinguished into three separate categories that demarcate the degrees of vegetation coverage and growth of the common pine. These were Area A (area with a pine stand that is several dozen years-old), Area B (areas with a pine stand that is approximately a dozen years-old) and Area C (areas without a pine stand). The Cu concentration in the surface categories was respectively 141.03/187.54/834.43 mg·kg-1. Above 600% in Cu concentration was noted in category C in comparison to category A. It was found that the content of most elements (B, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Zn) did not exceed the permissible values according to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment on soil quality standards; however, in the case of Cu, the limit values established for forest and agricultural soils were exceeded, with the highest Cu contents found in the 'C' category. The results obtained confirm that the wood protection chemicals, such as copper sulphate, affected the long-term pollution of forest soils.

Three-dimensional model of magnetic susceptibility in forest topsoil: An indirect method to discriminate contaminant migration.

Soil magnetic susceptibility (MS) is an important parameter in pollution studies owing to its relationship with atmospheric deposition, and the concomitance of technogenic magnetic particles (TMPs) with potentially toxic elements (PTEs), Fe and Mn. In this study, we performed a detailed soil study under tree canopies for a forest area with high historical TMP-bearing industrial dust deposition. The technogenic sources of magnetic signals in topsoil were analyzed via scanning electron microscope electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), while the minor role of geogenic sources was obtained from soil profile analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show soil TMP distribution in three dimensional (3D) space. In addition, using the data from 275 soil cores and 8250 individual measurements, 3D maps of MS for four tree species were plotted. There is a noticeable difference between coniferous (spruce and pine) and deciduous (beech and oak) species regarding depth of maximum concentration of magnetic particles in the topsoil. For beech and oak, maximum MS values were measured at 3 cm depth; pine and spruce, maximum MS values were measured at 5 cm depth. However, no significant differences were found among tree species in terms of mean MS or PTE contents. This suggests that there is little different among tree species in terms of dust capture over their life span. Significant correlations between MS and other parameters (PTEs and organic matter contents) present new possibilities for spatial 3D analysis of topsoil horizons.

Reclamation of a lignite combustion waste disposal site with alders (Alnus sp.): assessment of tree growth and nutrient status within 10 years of the experiment.

Combustion wastes are characterised by extremely low N contents. Therefore, introduction of nitrogen-fixing species at the first stage of their biological reclamation is required. This paper presents an assessment of the growth parameters of alders (Alnus sp.) 10 years after their introduction to a disposal site of lignite combustion waste in Central Poland. Black (Alnus glutinosa) and grey alders (Alnus incana) were planted directly in the combustion waste. The soil amendment included three variants: control with pure combustion waste, admixture of lignite culm and addition of acid sand. Both alder species displayed good growth parameters comparable to those of alders in natural habitats. However, black alder had better growth parameters, such as stand density index (SDI), diameter at breast height (DBH) and height (H) than grey alder. The lignite amendment exerted a positive effect on tree growth, reflected in a higher SDI and H, whereas the acid sand amendment did not affect any of the growth parameters of the studied alder species. Despite the good growth parameters, the measured N:P and N:K ratios in the alder leaves largely differed from the optimal values indicating insufficient P and K supply at the combustion waste disposal site. This may pose a threat to further development of the introduced tree plantings. The introduction of alders along with the lignite addition into the planting holes seems to be a successful method of combustion waste revegetation.

Preliminary Effects of Fertilization on Ecochemical Soil Condition in Mature Spruce Stands Experiencing Dieback in the Beskid Slaski and Zywiecki Mountains, Poland.

In recent years, there has been the phenomena of spruce dieback in Europe. Significant areas of spruce low mortality now cover both sides of the Polish southern border. We evaluated ecochemical parameters influencing the heavy dieback occurring in mature spruce stands in the Polish Carpathian Mountains. Dolomite, magnesite and serpentinite fertilizers were applied to experimental plots located in 100-year-old stands in the autumn of 2008. The experimental plots were located in the mid-elevational forest zone (900-950 m) on two nappes of the flysch Carpathians: Magura (Ujsoly Forest District) and Silesian (Wisla Forest District). The saturation of the studied soils demonstrates moderate resilience of soils in Wisla Forest District in relation to acid load and high flexibility of the Ujsoly soils. After application of the fertilizers, an increase of Mg, Ca and Mb was noted in the soil solution, determined in the overlaying highly acidic organic horizons through the ion-exchange buffering mechanism of highly protonated functional groups with high buffering capacity. Magnesium concentration increased following fertilization, presenting a potential improvement of forest growth capacity without the hazard of adverse side effects of liming. Aluminium stress in old spruce is unlikely, while trees in the control plots in Wisla Forest District may already be sensitive to aluminium stress. Serpentinite fertilization improved the supply of soils in magnesium without causing significant changes in the pH of the soil. Such changes in the pH were found in dolomite and magnesite fertilizer.