TITLE:
Effect of Mulching on Uptake of Copper and Nickel from Smelter-Polluted-Soil by Planted Tree Seedlings
AUTHORS:
Eva Komanicka, Heljä-Sisko Helmisaari, Markus Hartman, Tiina M. Nieminen
KEYWORDS:
Bioavailability; Biocompost; Birch; Forest Soil; Pine; Restoration; Wood Chips
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Air Pollution,
Vol.2 No.3,
August
23,
2013
ABSTRACT: Our aim was to determine the
long-term effect of a mulching treatment on copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) uptake
by tree seedlings (Pinus sylvestris L. and Betula pubescens Ehrh.) from smelter-polluted forest soil in southwesternFinland.
A mulch cover spread onto polluted barren soil did not have a clear positive
impact on the biomass production and it did not decrease metal uptake by
planted tree seedlings during a ten-year study period. In contrast, the Cu
uptake by the above-ground parts of birch was increased as a result of
mulching, although there were weak indications of slightly reduced availability
of Cu and Ni to roots in the case of both species. As Cu and Ni concentrations
of foliage and bark have been shown to be strongly affected by surface
deposited metal containing aerosols, only the woody compartments were used as
indicators of metal uptake from soil. The Cu:Ni ratios of woody compartments
were lower than those predicted by the Cu:Ni ratios of soil suggesting that the
soil extraction method used gives an underestimation of available Ni in
relation to Cu. The lower soil Niexch concentrations on the mulched
plots compared to the controls were in agreement with the slightly lower root
Ni concentrations in the mulch treatments.