The Content of Heavy Metals and Sulfur in Forest Ecosystems in the Pechenganikel Smelter's Zone of Impact Due to the Reduction of Atmospheric Emissions

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to study the state of forest ecosystems in conditions of changing anthropogenic pressure and the practical significance of improving the monitoring system for sustainable forest management. The dynamics of the intake of pollutants with atmospheric precipitation, their accumulation in the soil and tree layer (using the example of an edificator species - Pinus sylvestris L.) with prolonged anthropogenic impact on forest ecosystems, as well as during the period of a sharp reduction in atmospheric emissions in the impact zone of the Pechenganikel smelter (Nickel village, Murmansk region). The studies were carried out in the period from 1991 to 2021 on the test areas of permanent monitoring plots located in pine forests at various distances from the source of atmospheric emissions (7, 14, 44 km). Between 1991 and 2020, the annual volume of industrial emissions of SO2, Ni and Cu into the atmosphere decreased. In December 2020, the release of pollutants into the atmosphere practically stopped due to the Pechenganikel metallurgical smelter being shut down. First of all, a sharp reduction in the emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere led to a change in the composition of snow and rainwater, the concentrations of pollutants (Ni, Cu, Co, Pb и Cd) in them approached regional background values. However, the concentrations of heavy metals and sulfur in the soil are still significantly higher than in typical forest ecosystems of the Murmansk region, due to the long period required for soil regeneration and self-purification.