Heavy metals content in foliar litter and branches of Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Quercus robur L. observed at two ICP forests monitoring plots / Srđan Stojnić, Marko Kebert, MIlan Drekić, Zoran Galić, Lazar Kesić, Aleksandar Tepavac, Saša Orlović.
Sažetak

Background and Purpose: Due to the ability to uptake and accumulate heavy metals (HM) in their aboveground tissues, trees may be used for phytoremediation purposes, but also as bioindicators of environmental pollution. The aims of the present study were: a) to investigate the content and temporal variation of the studied HMs in different plant organs during the period of intensive leaf falling (September-October), in two species from genus Quercus; b) to evaluate the observed HMs content relative to plausible ranges of element concentration in foliar litter, as recommended by ICP Forests Foliar Co-ordinating Centre (IFFCC). Material and Methods: The contents of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) were assessed in the litterfall (i.e. leaves and branches) of Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Quercus robur L. grown at two ICP Forests Level II monitoring plots (Fruška Gora and Odžaci, Serbia). Plant material was sampled during September-October 2018 and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results: Comparing the content of investigated HMs in foliar litter and branches of Q. robur and Q. petraea, notably higher concentrations of Mn and Fe have been observed in the foliage of both species, whereas Zn and Cu concentrations were higher in collected branch material of both of the above-mentioned tree species. The results further showed that, when compared to plausible ranges of element concentrations in foliar litter, given by ICP Forests Foliar Co-ordinating Centre (IFFCC), average concentrations of Fe and Zn in the leaves were within suggested limits, whereas certain concentrations of Mn and Cu exceeded the proposed ranges. Furthermore, the content of the studied HMs in plant material of both Quercus species significantly varied during sampling period.