Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters
We studied metal contamination of streams in the forestry dominated and close-on pristine subcatchments in Finland and Russian Karelia. In this area, atmospheric deposition and point loading are insignificant as sources of metals, while geochemical sources and silvicultural activities are important....
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Boreal Environment Research Publishing Board
2024
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10138/578186 |
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ftunivhelsihelda:oai:helda.helsinki.fi:10138/578186 2024-09-15T18:00:09+00:00 Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters Vuori, K.-M. Siren, O. Luotonen, H. 2024-06-27T13:44:48Z 61-70 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10138/578186 eng eng Boreal Environment Research Publishing Board Boreal Environment Research 1239-6095 1797-2469 1 8 http://hdl.handle.net/10138/578186 Suomen ympäristökeskus CC BY 4.0 openAccess Artikkeli lehdessä 2024 ftunivhelsihelda 2024-08-21T23:48:04Z We studied metal contamination of streams in the forestry dominated and close-on pristine subcatchments in Finland and Russian Karelia. In this area, atmospheric deposition and point loading are insignificant as sources of metals, while geochemical sources and silvicultural activities are important. Aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw. was used as a sentinel organism measuring the metal contamination. Tufts of Fontinalis were collected at 10 Russian and 8 Finnish stream sites for the measurement of whole-plant Al, Fe, Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni concentrations. The average Al, Fe, Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni concentrations were statistically significantly higher in the Finnish moss samples than in the Russian ones. In particular, concentrations of Al, Fe, Cu, Ni and Zn in many Finnish streams clearly exceeded natural background concentrations and were comparable to the earlier results from streams affected by metal loading from point and non-point sources. The results suggest that silvicultural practices in combination with specific geochemical features may cause metal contamination of streams in areas considered otherwise unpolluted. We stress the importance of taking precautions against forestry-induced metal contamination. Article in Journal/Newspaper Boreal Environment Research karelia* HELDA – University of Helsinki Open Repository |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
HELDA – University of Helsinki Open Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivhelsihelda |
language |
English |
description |
We studied metal contamination of streams in the forestry dominated and close-on pristine subcatchments in Finland and Russian Karelia. In this area, atmospheric deposition and point loading are insignificant as sources of metals, while geochemical sources and silvicultural activities are important. Aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw. was used as a sentinel organism measuring the metal contamination. Tufts of Fontinalis were collected at 10 Russian and 8 Finnish stream sites for the measurement of whole-plant Al, Fe, Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni concentrations. The average Al, Fe, Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni concentrations were statistically significantly higher in the Finnish moss samples than in the Russian ones. In particular, concentrations of Al, Fe, Cu, Ni and Zn in many Finnish streams clearly exceeded natural background concentrations and were comparable to the earlier results from streams affected by metal loading from point and non-point sources. The results suggest that silvicultural practices in combination with specific geochemical features may cause metal contamination of streams in areas considered otherwise unpolluted. We stress the importance of taking precautions against forestry-induced metal contamination. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vuori, K.-M. Siren, O. Luotonen, H. |
spellingShingle |
Vuori, K.-M. Siren, O. Luotonen, H. Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters |
author_facet |
Vuori, K.-M. Siren, O. Luotonen, H. |
author_sort |
Vuori, K.-M. |
title |
Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters |
title_short |
Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters |
title_full |
Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters |
title_fullStr |
Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters |
title_full_unstemmed |
Metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in Finnish and Russian headwaters |
title_sort |
metal contamination of streams in relation to catchment silvicultural practices: a comparative study in finnish and russian headwaters |
publisher |
Boreal Environment Research Publishing Board |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10138/578186 |
genre |
Boreal Environment Research karelia* |
genre_facet |
Boreal Environment Research karelia* |
op_relation |
Boreal Environment Research 1239-6095 1797-2469 1 8 http://hdl.handle.net/10138/578186 Suomen ympäristökeskus |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 openAccess |
_version_ |
1810437264799432704 |