Biogeochemical assessment of environmental risk by the example of Pinus sylvestris L

The possibility of using annual rings of Pinus sylvestris L. to assess chemical pollution in the Republic of Karelia is discussed. With the help of principal component factor analysis the relationship between the contents of chemical elements and dendrological parameters – the width of annual rings and wood density - was revealed. The main factors contributing to the pollution of the northern part of the Republic of Karelia by the emission from iron-ore enterprise JSC «Karelsky Okatysh» are frequent ecologically significant wind directions, the distance from the source and the total mass of the emission. The value of radial growth (the average width of annual rings for five-years) of Pinus sylvestris L. is connected negatively with the content of Cu, Cd, Ni and Fe. As an element of nutrition, Mn is positively correlated with the density of wood wherein it is an antagonist of Fe and partially of Cr in northern areas. Several peaks of Pb content coincide with the most intense tests of atomic weapons. Sharp maximums of Pb can also be due to a cross-border pollution and emission from regional sources.