Effects of sulphur and heavy metal deposition on foliar chemistry of Scots pines in Finnish Lapland and on the Kola Peninsula

Foliar concentrations of sulphur (S), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) were measured from Scots pine needles collected from a gradient on the Kola Peninsula and in Finnish Lapland. S, Cu and Ni levels rose in the vicinity of the smelter complex in Monchegorsk. K and P concentrations followed the same pattern due to enhanced foliar senescence close to the smelters, whereas those of Mn and Zn decreased in the vicinity of the smelters, possibly because of increased leakage from foliage and soil and antagonistic interactions between Mn, Zn and the emitted elements.