Biomonitoring of trace element accumulation in plants growing at Murat Mountain

The purpose of this study is to determine the present levels of atmospheric trace element pollution in the Murat Mountain of Aegean Region in the western part of Turkey. Therefore, 29 different plants were selected as potential biomonitors of trace elements including nickel, zinc, iron, lead, cadmium and manganese (μg/g, dry weight). The samples were collected from two different heights of Murat Mountain. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of trace elements. The mean concentrations determined at 1,000 m altitude ranged from 0.139 to 4.518, 0.223 to 0.986, 0.359 to 6.930, 0.443 to 0.727 and 0.077 to 3.222 μg/g, dry weight, for nickel, zinc, iron, lead and manganese, respectively. At 1,600 m altitude, the values ranged from 0.191 to 6.248, 0.302 to 1.008, 2.387 to 8.896, 0.345 to 0.570 and 0.195 to 3.502 μg/g, dry weight, for nickel, zinc, iron, lead and manganese, respectively. No cadmium was found at both altitudes. For determination of existence of any differences between the averages of the herbaceous and woody plants, comparisons were made by the independent sample t test. In the statistical analysis, comparison of trace element pollution values of herbaceous and woody plants for nickel, lead and manganese was significant (P < 0.05), while it was not for iron and zinc.