Aerotechnogenic Pollution of Boreal Forests in Northern Europe

Abstract

This paper discusses the changes that boreal forest ecosystems undergo under the influence of gaseous waste from the processing of non-ferrous ores on the Kola Peninsula. These communities are represented primarily by pine forests growing on the northern border of their range. The main forest-forming species here is Scots pine main components for this local aeronautical emission are polymetallic dust and sulfur dioxide, which is the main by-product during the roasting of sulfide and polysulfide ores. The studies were carried out on the basis of materials obtained at 6 sample plots located at different distances from the pollution source. As a result, an exponential increase in the content of heavy metals in the soil, as well as in the assimilatory organs of the components of these communities, was shown when approaching the source of pollution (this pattern is different for each of the metals). Regularities of negative changes in the structure of some components of plant communities, such as phytomass, projective cover of the lower layers, and the vital structure of the tree layer were also identified.