Concentration of pollutants in the air, soil and plants in the area of the national park "Fruska Gora" - Serbia"

Abstract

Fruska gora is a mountain situated in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia in the province of Vojvodina. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which soil and plants are burdened with certain heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Zn, Fe, Mn, and others usually present in polluted atmosphere), then the accumulation of heavy metals in the National Park "Fruska gora" was detected and the interdependence of pollution among all three media of the environment determined. This paper analyzes the heavy metal contents within a 2-years period in air, soil and plants at the beginning of the vegetation period. The presence of Pb, Ni, Zn, Fe and Mn in the samples was analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Measurements of heavy metal contents were performed at 7 locations in soil and vegetative parts of 17 plant types (woody plants, herbs and lianas), and analysis of the air was performed at 2 locations (through placement of sedimentators) within a 3-months period during winter. One of the major findings is that the dominant emission of pollutants at the analyzed locations is anthropogenic and originates from traffic.