Rape, sunflower and forest honeys for long-term environmental monitoring: Presence of indicator elements and non-photosynthetic carbon in old Hungarian samples

Sajtos, Zsófi and Varga, Tamás and Gajdos, Zita and Burik, Petra and Csontos, Máté and Lisztes-Szabó, Zsuzsa and Jull, A.J. Timothy and Molnár, Mihály and Baranyai, Edina (2022) Rape, sunflower and forest honeys for long-term environmental monitoring: Presence of indicator elements and non-photosynthetic carbon in old Hungarian samples. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 808. No.-152044. ISSN 0048-9697

Preview

Text STOTEN-2.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

In this paper, we present the time-dependent elemental composition and AMS radiocarbon dating results of 36 rape, sunflower and forest honey samples, collected between 1985 and 2018 in geographically close locations. Based on the elemental information, we conclude that bee products regardless the type provide useful environmental information of the previous decades, such as the decreasing trend of airborne Pb emission can be traced. However, radiocarbon results agree less with the atmospheric bomb peak. Random offsets were observed in the specific radiocarbon activity of the honey samples indicating that rape, sunflower and forest honey samples are not as reliable materials for radiocarbon dating as acacia honeys. The radiocarbon results show that the rape, sunflower and forest honey samples can contain non-photosynthetic carbon, presumably derived from the soil. Thus, the complex application of honey samples for environmental reconstruction requires the species-separated investigation of bee products to reveal their adaptability for assessment approaches.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item