Application of statistical methods to determine seasonal variations of metals in soils and plants around A copper deposit in Çayeli,Turkey [Çayeli Baki{dotless}r Yataǧi{dotless} Çevresindeki Toprak ve Bitkilerde Mevsimsel Deǧişimlerin İstatistiksel Olarak Belirlenmesi]

The study area is located at the southern part of the black sea tectonic unit in northern turkey. this unit which is a part of the alpine-himalayan metallogenic belt extending from eastern europe through central asia to the pacific region hosts several types of economic mineralization. çayeli copper deposit is one of the biggest deposits in the eastern black sea region. therefore,the host rocks in the study area contain high concentrations of various ore elements. soils derived from the ore-containing rocks and tea plants growing on these soils may also contain high element concentrations. in order to better understand the seasonal variations,soil and tea leaf samples were collected during two seasons (april 2005,october 2005) and analyzed for major elements (mn,al,fe,na,ca,k,mg,and p),and trace elements (as,cd,co,cu,hg,pb,and zn). linear discriminant analysis was performed on the soil and plant data of the study area. mahalanobis generalized distance of both soil and plant samples showed that there was a large difference in the concentration level of two season's data. contamination in soils was qualified with pollution index and integrated pollution index. results of analysis yield that soils are characterized by high concentrations of cd,as,pb,zn,mn,cu,co,and hg. since concentrations of other elements do not exceed the permissible levels they are not evaluated.