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Isolation, Behavioral Identification, and Pathogenicity Assessment of Entomopathogenic Fungi from a Forest Wood Borer
Published on: September 29, 2023
PCDD/F and PCB in spruce forests of the Alps
I Offenthaler1, R Bassan, C Belis
1Austrian Environment Agency, Spittelauer Lände 5, 1090 Vienna, Austria. ivo.offenthaler@umweltbundesamt.at
Abstract:
PCDD/F and PCB concentrations in remote mountainous spruce stands of the Central European Alps show strong geographic variation. Independent of the matrix (0.5 year old needles, humus or mineral soil), the highest pollutant levels were always found at the lateral zones of the mountain range. High levels coincided with strong precipitation, particularly along the northern margin of the study region. The most volatile PCB congener propagated farther into the colder, drier central Alps than the heavier species. Matrices with different accumulation history (needles and humus) repeatedly reflected different spatial emission patterns. Consistent with its much longer exposure, pollutant levels in humus exceeded those of needles by up to two orders of magnitude. Needle contamination varied with altitude but the vertical trends were highly variable between transsects and changed between years, too.
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