Variability of the Chemical Composition of Pine Forest Components in the Forest-Steppe of the Chelyabinsk Region under the Influence of Anthropogenic Load

Abstract

The work provides a comprehensive assessment of changes in the intensity of pollution of soils and plants of pine forests with increasing distance from the main sources of pollution. Within the forest-steppe zone of the Chelyabinsk region, zones of environmental tension have been identified based on the summary index of soil contamination with mobile forms of chemical elements and on the level of pine bark contamination. The main polluting elements were Cr, Pb, Zn, Cd, the content of which in soils was tens of times higher than the background values. The same pollutants and Cu were noted for pine bark, but their concentrations were significantly lower and exceeded the background only several times. High values of correlation coefficients between pollution indicators for soils and bark were noted for Pb, Cu, Zn and the summary indices of contamination. The content of most of the studied chemical elements in pine needles does not exceed background values, but the Al and Ni content in some plots near industrial enterprises can be 2–4 times higher than background values.