Abstract
Tree ring analysis was studied as a means of constructing historical environmental pollution records. Lead in xylem from Liriodendron tulipifera, Quercus alba, and Carya spp. trees growing near a road and in a forest was measured by atomic absorption graphite furnace techniques. Lead concentrations in xylem formed before and after 1924 were compared among species, within species, and between sites. Carya had the highest xylem lead and was the only species sensitive to low-level, post-1923 lead exposures. Evidence of lead movement among rings was found in Carya and Liriodendron. The mean rate of xylem lead increase after 1932 in the ring-porous species compared well with traffic growth rate along the road, but the variability of this parameter among trees and its inverse correlation with distance from the road suggests the necessity of many intra-specific replicates to relate temporarily patterned xylem lead concentrations to pollution histories.
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