Dendrochronological research of scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) radial growth invicinity of industrial pollution

Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate changes in the annual radial increment of Scots pine (Pinussylvestris L.) in the vicinity of intensive (3–10 km) and moderate (11–20 km) industrial pollution duringdifferent growth periods (growth promotion, inhibition, and recovery). Low level of emission was benefi-cial for tree growth during the growth promotion period, and the annual radial increment in the zones ofintensive and moderate pollution increased by approximately 15–25% and 10%, respectively. Severe losswas reported to forests during the growth inhibition period when nitrogen and sulphur dioxide emis-sions were 37–40 thousand (thou.) tons per year. About 40–45% tree radial increment loss was observedin the stands closest to the pollution source, and 15–20% loss was observed for the most distant stands.The stabilization of radial growth decrease and the beginning of recovery of damaged stands began in1988–1992, when the annual amount of industrial emissions and environmental pollution were consid-erably reduced. The stabilization of radial growth and the initiation of recovery after pollution reductionwere high for the most damaged stands. Their radial increment was stable and close to that of the controlstands in 2000–2011. Stands with less damage growing further from the pollution source were recoveredearlier, and their radial increment stabilized near the control increment in 1995–1999. The results of linearregression analysis demonstrated that the impact of pollution is different for stands growing at differentdistances from the plant, and the impact decreases with distance (R2= 0.78 and R2= 0.75, respectively;p < 0.05).