Monitoring air pollution close to a cement plant and in a multi-source industrial area through tree-ring analysis

Thirty-two trace elements were examined in the tree rings of downy oak to evaluate the pollution levels close to a cement plant isolated in a rural context and an industrial area where multiple sources of air pollution are or were present. Tree cores were collected from trees growing 1 km from both the cement plant and the industrial area that are located 8 km from each other. The analysis of the trace elements was performed on annual tree rings from 1990 to 2016 using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Trace elements Cs, Mg, Mn, S and Zn reflected the emission history of the cement plant. Their values have increased since early 2000s, when the cement plant started its activity. However, the lack of significant trends of pollutants in the tree rings from the industrial area and the possible effect of translocation and volatility of some elements left open questions. The very weak changes of the other trace elements in the period 1990–2016 suggest those elements do not mark any additional effect of the industrial activity on the background pollution. The results confirm that downy oak trees growing close to isolated industrial plants must be considered a pollution forest archive accessible through dendrochemistry.