FLUORIDE DEPOSITION VIA LITTERFALL IN A COASTAL-PLAIN PINE PLANTATION IN SOUTH-CAROLINA

The concentration of fluoride in needles, its effects on tree defoliation and on decomposition of needles (litter), and its subsequent accumulation in the upper soil horizons were observed in pine plantations near and far from a new aluminum smelter. Pinus taeda and Pinus palustris stands within 0.8 km of the smelter had significantly higher levels of foliar F than a P. taeda stand 1.8 km from the source. Neither temporal patterns nor amounts of needlefall were altered by airborne F from the smelter. In addition, elevated levels of foliar F did not affect the rate of decomposition of pine needles over a period of 6 mo. Soluble F in soil samples increased significantly in the upper 10 cm of the soils at the sites nearest the F source over a period of 7 yr since the start of F emissions. © 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers.