title: Boron and strontium isotope ratios and major/trace elements concentrations in tea leaves at four major tea growing gardens in Taiwan.
abstract: Isotopic compositions of B and Sr in rocks and sediments can be used as tracers for plant provincial sources. This study aims to test whether tea leaf origin can be discriminated using (10)B/(11)B and Sr isotopic composition data, along with concentrations of major/trace elements, in tea specimens collected from major plantation gardens in Taiwan. The tea leaves were digested by microwave and analyzed by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS). The data showed significant variations in (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios (from 0.70482 to 0.71462), which reflect changes in soil, groundwater or irrigation conditions. The most radiogenic tea leaves were found at the Taitung garden and the least radiogenic ones were from the Hualien garden. The δ (11)B was found to change appreciably (δ (11)B = 0.38-23.73 ‰) which could be due to fertilizers. The maximum δ (11)B was also observed in tea samples from the Hualien garden. Principal component analysis combining (87)Sr/(86)Sr, δ (11)B and major/trace elements results successfully discriminated different sources of major tea gardens in Taiwan, except the Hualien gardens, and this may be due to rather complicated local geological settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Cheng-Ta
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan, ROC. cfy20@mail.ncku.edu.tw.|Earth Dynamic System Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan, ROC. cfy20@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chen-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai, 400 094, India.
authors.forename: Suresh Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Earth Dynamic System Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chuan-Hsiung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Hung-Chun
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Earth Dynamic System Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Hou-Chun
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001895:Boron / Q000032:analysis*; D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000737:chemistry*; D007554:Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D013325:Strontium Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D013624:Taiwan; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes; D013325:Strontium Isotopes; D013662:Tea; D014131:Trace Elements; D001895:Boron
keywords: MC-ICPMS; Major/trace elements; Principal component analysis; Sr and B isotopic composition; Tea leaves