# Influence of elevation and shrub age on element accumulation in Vaccinium myrtillus in the alpine zone of the Low Tatras

## TL;DR

This study shows how elevation and shrub age affect element accumulation in blueberry stems in alpine areas, offering insights into environmental change.

## Contribution

The study reveals that elevation has a stronger influence than shrub age on elemental accumulation in alpine blueberries.

## Key findings

- Older shrubs are more common at lower elevations, showing a strong negative correlation between age and elevation.
- Elevation strongly predicts decreases in K, Mn, and Cr concentrations in blueberry stems.
- PCA analysis identified two main factors influencing elemental composition: an enrichment gradient and a nutrient-metal contrast.

## Abstract

Understanding how plant age and elevation influence elemental accumulation in alpine vegetation is essential for assessing long-term bioaccumulation processes and the impacts of environmental change in mountain ecosystems. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between elevation, shrub age, and the concentrations of macro- and microelements in the stems of European blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) in the alpine zone of the Low Tatras (Western Carpathians, Slovakia). Stems were collected along two altitudinal transects (~ 100 m difference), and concentrations of 11 elements (S, Cl, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Rb, Ba, Pb) were measured using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF). Shrub age was determined from annual growth rings. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between shrub age and elevation (ρ = –0.62, p < 0.001), with older individuals prevailing at lower altitudes. Several elements, particularly K, Mn, and Cr, showed age-related increases in concentration, whereas multiple regression analyses identified elevation as a stronger predictor than age, with significant declines in K, Mn, and Cr at higher elevations. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated that the first two components explained 55.6% of the variance, separating a general enrichment gradient (PC1) from a compositional contrast between nutrient elements and metal pollutants (PC2). ANOVA of PCA scores confirmed significant differences between transects (p < 0.001), reflecting altitudinal variation in elemental composition. These findings demonstrate that both biological (age-related) and environmental (elevation-driven) factors jointly shape elemental accumulation in V. myrtillus stems, supporting their potential use as bioindicators of long-term environmental change in alpine ecosystems.