Biomonitoring of atmospheric particulate matter using magnetic properties of Salix matsudana tree ring cores

Magnetic properties of atmospheric particulate matter collected by both natural and artificial dust receptors are increasingly being used as proxy parameters for environmental analyses. This study reports the first investigation of the relationship between smelting factory activity and the impact on the environment as recorded by the magnetic signature in Salix matsudana tree rings. Magnetic techniques including low-temperature experiments, successive acquisition of isothermal remanent magnetisation (IRM), hysteresis loops and measurements of saturated IRM (SIRM) indicated that magnetic particles were omnipresent in tree bark and trunk wood, and that these particles were predominantly magnetite with multidomain properties. The magnetic properties of tree trunk and branch cores sampled from different directions and heights implied that the acquisition of magnetic particles by a tree depends on both orientation and height. The differences of SIRM values of tree ring cores indicated that pollution source-facing tree trunk wood contained significantly more magnetic particles than other faces. The results indicated that magnetic particles are most likely to be intercepted and collected by tree bark and then enter into tree xylem tissues during the growing season to become finally enclosed into the tree ring by lignification. There was a significant correlation between time-dependent SIRM values of tree ring cores and the annual iron production of the smelting factory. From the dependence of magnetic properties with sampling direction and height, it is argued that magnetic particles in the xylem cannot move between tree rings. Accordingly, the SIRM of tree ring cores from the source-facing side can contribute to historic studies of atmospheric particulate matter produced by heavy metal smelting activities.