Abstract The scarcity of lead toxicity data for forest plant species and the increasing concern over the possible role of metals in the decline of forests in western Europe and thet Eastern United States necessitate that lead and other metals be closely monitored in these important forest ecosystems. Samples of vegetation, forest floor material, and soil were collected at five spruce-fir sites and two hardwood sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). Mean forest floor lead concentrations were lower than average values reported in an earlier EPA study of lead levels in the GSMNP, and lower than recently published values for similar sites in the northeastern United States and western Europe. As expected, lead concentrations increased (1) with increasing age of coniferous foliage, (2) with increasing site elevation for foliage and forest floor material, and (3) with increasing degree of decomposition of forest floor material.