4. Biogeochemical and Functional Traits of a Tree in Metal-Contaminated Territory

Long-term biogeochemical processes occurring in nature are usually judged by their outcome, i.e., the products received in the course of certain biogeochemical reactions. Quality assurance of their result depends on mastering methodological and analytical methods. To this end, the chapter starts with an introduction of the methods used for determining metal content in wood. The exact determination of metal concentrations in the components of the soil–tree system forms the basis for identifying the level of contamination in a wood environment and a valid response of the tree to interpreting pollution. Using the method for the functional traits of trees, effective answers to the following (and other) questions can be found: What is the content of metals accumulated in the biomass of wood? Which morphological part of the tree has the highest content of metals? How does the technological modification of soil change the capacity of the tree?.