ArticleApplications in plant sciences2017
Retrospective analysis of heavy metal contamination in Rhode Island based on old and new herbarium specimens.
Article in Applications in plant sciences, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reconstructing Air Pollution Trends in Remote Forests of Central Europe Using Lichen Herbarium Specimens.Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology · 2025Article
- Antioxidant and Sensory Properties of Raw and Cooked Pork Meat Burgers Formulated with Extract from Non-Compliant Green Coffee Beans.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy as a non-destructive method for analysing herbarium specimens.Biology letters · 2023Article
- Development of a system for the automated identification of herbarium specimens with high accuracy.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Utilizing herbarium specimens to quantify historical mycorrhizal communities.Applications in plant sciences · 2019Article
- Using herbaria to study global environmental change.The New phytologist · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
premise of the studyHerbarium specimens may provide a record of past environmental conditions, including heavy metal pollution. To explore this potential, we compared concentrations of copper, lead, and zinc in historical and new collections from four sites in Rhode Island, USA.
methodsWe compared historical specimens (1846 to 1916) to congener specimens collected in 2015 at three former industrial sites in Providence, Rhode Island, and one nonindustrial site on Block Island. Leaf material was prepared by UltraWAVE SRC Microwave Digestion, and heavy metal concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy.
resultsHeavy metal concentrations in the historical and new specimens were measurable for all elements tested, and levels of copper and zinc were comparable in the historical and 2015 collections. By contrast, the concentration of lead declined at all sites over time. Significant variability in heavy metal concentration was observed between taxa, reflecting their varied potential for elemental accumulation. DISCUSSION: It seems clear that herbarium specimens can be used to evaluate past levels of pollution and assess local environmental changes. With careful sampling effort, these specimens can be a valuable part of environmental science research. Broadening the possible applications for herbarium collections in this way increases their relevance in an era of reduced funding for collections-based research.
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