Comparison of Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Cd and Pb concentration in spruce needles collected in the area of Gdansk and Gdynia in Northern Poland

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the investigation was to assess the utility of spruce needles as a potential material to be used for monitoring the contamination level of the environment of Tricity agglomeration (represented by Gdansk and Gdynia). This aim was realized by determining the levels of selected essential elements indispensable for the life of living organisms, such as Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu, as well as toxic, namely Cd and Pb, in spruce needles collected in the locations in Gdynia and for comparison, in Gdańsk. Due to this, the collected samples of needles were dried, and next digested by microwave technique in order to prepare them for quantitative analysis by atomic absorption spectrometry. Moreover, the same metallic elements were determined in the soil samples collected under the spruces, from which needles were taken for the investigation. The concentrations of the studied elements were found in the range of mg/kg of dry mass in the following order: Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu and Cd (needles), and Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd (soils). By application of statistical methods (correlation, variance and principal component analyses), the differences in the elemental composition of spruce needles were identified, as well as sources of this differentiation.