Changes in basal area increments and sup15/supN of Scots pine growing near industrial steelworks in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland

In this study, we present evidence using basal area increments (BAI) and sup15/supN/sup14/supN nitrogen isotopic composition of emPinus sylvestris/em from sites near the industrial area in Dąbrowa Górnicza (Poland) to assess potential effects of pollution on tree growth and physiology. Changes in BAI reveal a marked long−term decline in stem growth during peak industrial pollution in the 1960s followed by a distinct subsequent increase after the mid 1980s. Coinciding with the earlier period of growth suppression, we also found a decrease in covariance of growth increments among trees and a weakening of the climatic signal in pine tree−ring chronologies followed by a change related to summer drought sensitivity since the 2000s. The sup15/supN/sup14/supN ratios reveal distinct evidence of emissions from steel manufacturing since 1978 including a change in sup15/supN values from –10 to –4 ‰ in the polluted Scots pines. The results of this study show that there is a strong inverse correlation between tree−ring sup15/supN values and the nearby steelwork production rate coinciding with changes in growth rates and covariance among trees.