ABSTRACT: Increasing heavy metal pollution in the environment and the fact that pine needles are good bio-monitors for air pollutants was the reason to investigate their accumulation in pine needles in Vienna (Austria). Pinus nigra is widespread over the city, thus allowing the study of different parameters influencing metal accumulation. The sampling sites were chosen based on traffic volume (low, medium, high). Fresh shoots were collected alongside one-year-old needles once per week from May to August 2015. The needle samples were washed and dried prior to acidic microwave-assisted digestion followed by quantitative determination using spectrometric methods. The investigation was focused on the following elements: Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr
