Lead in soils and pine tree bark (Pinus sylvestris L.) from park area exposed to automotive contamination / Ołów w glebach i korze sosny (Pinus sylvestris L.) z obszaru parkowego, narażonego na zanieczyszczenia motoryzacyjne

The primary source of soils and plants contamination with heavy metals is rapidly growing traffic. One of the places exposed to harmful effect of vehicle exhaust is Leśny Park Kultury and Wypoczynku in Myślęcinek (LPKiW) near Bydgoszcz. Along LPKiW goes a communication road, which may be the source of environment contamination with heavy metals. The main threat for arable areas and forests is lead (Pb), originating from tetraethyl lead, used until recently as an additive in gasoline.

The aim of the conducted research was to determine the influence of traffic on the content of lead in soils and pine trees bark on the area of LPKiW located in the close vicinity of a busy traffic route. The research material was collected along the outlet route to A1 highway in the distance of 50 - 75 m from the edge of the road, from 13 representative research points. The content of lead in the research material was determined using ASA method after the mineralization of samples with microwave technique. In surface horizons of the investigated soils the total contents of Pb ranged from 11.71 to 40.58 mg·kg^-1, and in subsurface horizons ranged from 8.61 to 9.41 mg·kg^-1. The characteristic feature of the investigated soils is the higher accumulation of Pb in surface horizons, which is associated with its absorption by organic matter and clay minerals. The obtained results and literature data as compared with Pb content in reference samples show the influence of vehicles emissions on the Pb content