BIOGEOCHEMICAL ANOMALIES IN FENNOSCANDIA - STUDY OF COPPER, LEAD AND NICKEL LEVELS IN MELANDRIUM-DIOICUM AND VISCARIA-ALPINA

Herbarium specimens (over 700) of Melandrium dioicum and Viscaria alpina from throughout Fennoscandia were analysed for their Cu, Pb and Ni content. About 80 specimens had anomalous levels of one or more of these elements as determined by cumulative frequency plots. Inspection of collection localities of plants with anomalous heavy metal levels showed that some of the main copper mining districts of Norway and Sweden had been identified as well as several major ultrabasic regions of Fennoscandia. Although over half of the observed anomalies could be explained from previous knowledge of nearby sulphide mineralization, it is suggested that the more promising of the remainder are worthy of follow-up investigations. © 1979.