NATURAL MECHANISMS OF COPPER TOLERANCE IN A COPPER SWAMP FOREST

Abstract

The presence of a larch – black spruce forest on the Tantramar copper swamp in southeastern New Brunswick offered an opportunity for the study of natural mechanisms of copper tolerance of plants. Concentrations of copper occur as high as 7% dry weight of peat. Immobilization of copper in the soil by chelation to naturally occurring organic compounds appears to be the most important factor in preventing uptake of the metal in toxic amounts.