Effect of contaminated groundwater on tree growth: A tree-ring analysis

A study was conducted of the effect of contaminated groundwater seepage on tree growth downslope from the F- and H-Area seepage basins of the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Trees in wetlands along Four Mile Creek began to show localized stress and mortality in the late 1970s. Extreme winter temperatures and high rainfall were ruled out as potential causal factors of tree stress. Drought was shown to affect trees in both contaminated and uncontaminated zones, but trees in uncontaminated areas exhibited better recovery after drought than trees in contaminated areas. Pollution-mediated alteration of soil acidity and aluminum, sodium, and heavy metal concentrations likely acted to predispose trees to decline, with severe drought acting as the trigger for decline initiation and tree death. Thus, a moderate pollution loading, not sufficient to cause visible damage of itself, may create conditions in which sudden, severe decline could result from natural stresses. This mechanism of forest decline may be common, and should be considered in evaluations of the impact of pollution on wetland forest systems.