Study Concerning the Level of Pollution with Heavy Metalls of Forestry Species from Cluj – Napoca Town

Abstract

The possibility of monitoring the degree of heavy metal pollution in most crowded Cluj-Napoca town areas using different forestry species as biomonitors located around 4 monitoring stations was studied. Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus, Aesculus hippocastanum, Betula pendula, Juglans regia, Picea pungens var. Glauca, Picea abies, Pinus nigra, Tilia cordata, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Thuja occidentaliswere were the analyzed species. Microwave digestion of leaf and/or needles tissues and subsequent use of atomic absorption spectrometry was the analytical methodology used for the determination of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd). Only for the concentration of lead in the tree leaves and/or needles bigger values compared to maximum admitted limit were reported. This situation was recorded in three of the four monitoring stations. Aesculus hippocastanum, was the tree specie that accumulates the bigger metallic pollutant quantities, while Betula pendula, the smallest. A moderate negative correlation was reported between copper and lead (r = - 0.506), which is the biggest among the monitored pollutants.