Trees as sentinels of metallic pollution induced by mining along the Odiel River (Southern Iberian Peninsula)

A. Delapierre; J.A. Ballesteros-Canovas; J. Buzzi Marcos; V.I. Slaveykova; M. Stoffel

doi:10.18172/cig.4740

Autores/as

A. Delapierre Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva
J.A. Ballesteros-Canovas Universidad de Ginebra
J. Buzzi Marcos
V.I. Slaveykova Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva
M. Stoffel University of Geneva

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.4740

Palabras clave:

anillos de crecimiento, inundaciones, geomorfología fluvial, dendroquímica, elementos metálicos, contaminación, río Odiel

Resumen

La actividad minera es responsable de vertidos de aguas enriquecidas con ácidos y metales. La liberación de metales es especialmente preocupante debido a su toxicidad y persistencia en los ecosistemas. La detección y delimitación sistemática de zonas contaminadas en la llanura de inundación puede contribuir a una mejor gestión de dichas zonas en relación con el ciclo hidrológico. En este trabajo se analiza si los árboles, que crecen en diferentes posiciones geomorfológicas, registran la absorción de metales durante eventos de inundaciones. Para ello, se aplicaron análisis dendroquímicos a veinticinco ejemplares de la especie Pinus pinaster Ait. que crecen en las orillas del río Odiel (suroeste de España). También se analizaron cinco árboles de referencia que crecen alejados del cauce del río. Los árboles fueron muestreados con una barrena de Pressler (diámetro 1 cm) y las muestras fueron dendrocronológicamente fechadas, aislando bloques de 5 años que coincidían con eventos de inundaciones. Las concentraciones de metales tóxicos en muestras de árboles se midieron en dichos bloques mediante espectrometría de masas de plasma (ICPM). Los resultados revelan una clara correlación entre la acumulación de metales tóxicos y la ubicación geomorfológica de los árboles. La absorción de elementos metálicos fue mucho mayor en los árboles ubicados en el banco de orilla que en los árboles que crecen en las barras de sedimentos. Por otro lado, en los árboles más alejados del canal principal del río solo detectamos señales químicas después de las mayores inundaciones, pero no después de eventos más pequeños. Concluimos que la posición del árbol condiciona la señal dendroquímica asociada a procesos fluviales, aunque todavía se requieren más estudios para discernir los vínculos con eventos de inundaciones.

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