Impact of Industrial Pollution on Radial Growth of Conifers in a Former Mining Area in the Eastern Carpathians (Northern Romania)

• Main Authors: Cristian Gheorghe Sidor, Radu Vlad, Ionel Popa, Anca Semeniuc, Ecaterina Apostol, Ovidiu Badea
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Forests
• Subjects: air pollution; increment cores; Norway spruce; radial growth series; silver fir
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/5/640

The research aims to evaluate the impact of local industrial pollution on radial growth in affected Norway spruce (<i>Picea abies</i> (L.) Karst.) and silver fir (<i>Abies alba</i> Mill.) stands in the Tarnița study area in Suceava. For northeastern Romania, the Tarnița mining operation constituted a hotspot of industrial pollution. The primary processing of non-ferrous ores containing heavy metals in the form of complex sulfides was the main cause of pollution in the Tarnița region from 1968 to 1990. Air pollution of Tarnița induced substantial tree growth reduction from 1978 to 1990, causing a decline in tree health and vitality. Growth decline in stands located over 6 km from the pollution source was weaker or absent. Spruce trees were much less affected by the phenomenon of local pollution than fir trees. We analyzed the dynamics of resilience indices and average radial growth indices and found that the period in which the trees suffered the most from local pollution was between 1978 and 1984. Growth recovery of the intensively polluted stand was observed after the 1990s when the environmental condition improved because of a significant reduction in air pollution.