Grażyna Szarek-Łukaszewska

Survey of heavy metal deposition in Poland using mosses as indicators

Concentration of heavy metals in the feather moss Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt., a common moss species, were used to indicate relative levels of air pollution by seven heavy metals: Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in Poland. Pleurozium was sampled from 297 localities regularly distributed throughout the country. Significant differences in heavy metal levels in Pleurozium which are representative of particular localities were found. The highest concentrations were recorded in the moss samples from the southern and most industrialized part of the country, the lowest from northern and north-eastern Poland. A comparison of data obtained from identical localities in Poland (1990, 1995) showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of heavy metals in Pleurozium between 1990 and 1995. The decrease over 20 years (1975–1995) in 12 national parks which are fairly evenly distributed over an area of Poland was even more evident. The heavy metal concentrations found in mosses of Poland in the mid 1990s were generally similar to those reported from other countries of central Europe.

Response of mosses to the heavy metal deposition in Poland — an overview

Concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn) in Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt., a common moss species, were used to indicate relative levels of atmospheric deposition in Poland in the years 1975-1998. Spatial and temporal differences in the heavy metal concentrations in mosses were found. The highest concentration of heavy metals was recorded in the moss samples from the southern, most industrialised part of the country, and the lowest from north-eastern Poland. A significant decrease of heavy metals over 20 years (1975-1998) was found.

Chapter 10 Bryophytes

Abstract The use of bryophytes as bioindicators and biomonitors in terrestrial and aquatic habitats is reviewed in this article. Bryophytes are excellent indicators for a wide range of contaminants. This is in consequence of a series of morphological and physiological properties like the lack of a cuticle or the existence of large cationic exchange properties within the cell wall. Mosses have mainly been used as accumulation indicators especially for heavy metals, radionucleides and for toxic organic compounds. Reviewing a wide range of investigations on this topic, advantages and further needs for research are discussed. Sulphurous and nitrogen depositions can hardly be analysed by methods in the field of accumulation monitoring but by investigating the frequency, distribution, fertility and vitality of bryophyte species and populations. Similar methods are targeted by global change research, especially for the analysis of climate warming and the influence of land-use intensity on biodiversity.

Direct and indirect effects of metal contamination on soil biota in a Zn–Pb post-mining and smelting area (S Poland)

Effects of metal contamination on soil biota activity were investigated at 43 sites in 5 different habitats (defined by substratum and vegetation type) in a post-mining area. Sites were characterised in terms of soil pH and texture, nutrient status, total and exchangeable metal concentrations, as well as plant species richness and cover, abundances of enchytraeids, nematodes and tardigrades, and microbial respiration and biomass. The concentrations of total trace metals were highest in soils developed on mining waste (metal-rich dolomite), but these habitats were more attractive than sandy sites for plants and soil biota because of their higher content of organic matter, clay and nutrients. Soil mesofauna and microbes were strongly dependent on natural habitat properties. Pollution (exchangeable Zn and Cd) negatively affected only enchytraeid density; due to a positive relationship between enchytraeids and microbes it indirectly reduced microbial activity.

Soil fertility and plant diversity enhance microbial performance in metal-polluted soils

This study examined the effects of soil physicochemical properties (including heavy metal pollution) and vegetation parameters on soil basal respiration, microbial biomass, and the activity and functional richness of culturable soil bacteria and fungi. In a zinc and lead mining area (S Poland), 49 sites were selected to represent all common plant communities and comprise the areas diverse soil types. Numerous variables describing habitat properties were reduced by PCA to 7 independent factors, mainly representing subsoil type (metal-rich mining waste vs. sand), soil fertility (exchangeable Ca, Mg and K, total C and N, organic C), plant species richness, phosphorus content, water-soluble heavy metals (Zn, Cd and Pb), clay content and plant functional diversity (based on graminoids, legumes and non-leguminous forbs). Multiple regression analysis including these factors explained much of the variation in most microbial parameters; in the case of microbial respiration and biomass, it was 86% and 71%, respectively. The activity of soil microbes was positively affected mainly by soil fertility and, apparently, by the presence of mining waste in the subsoil. The mining waste contained vast amounts of trace metals (total Zn, Cd and Pb), but it promoted microbial performance due to its inherently high content of macronutrients (total Ca, Mg, K and C). Plant species richness had a relatively strong positive effect on all microbial parameters, except for the fungal component. In contrast, plant functional diversity was practically negligible in its effect on microbes. Other explanatory variables had only a minor positive effect (clay content) or no significant influence (phosphorus content) on microbial communities. The main conclusion from this study is that high nutrient availability and plant species richness positively affected the soil microbes and that this apparently counteracted the toxic effects of metal contamination.

Micro-PIXE studies of elemental distribution in seeds of Silene vulgaris from a zinc dump in Olkusz, southern Poland

Abstract Some plants growing on heavy metal enriched soils have evolved tolerance to such metals. Silene vulgaris (Moench.) Garcke, Caryophyllaceae is one of the common pioneer species of zinc dump flora and can be treated as a model species for the study of metal tolerance in higher plants. The NAC nuclear microprobe was used to compare elemental distribution in seeds by the simultaneous use of PIXE and proton backscattering spectrometry (BS). Quantitative elemental maps showed that seed tissues were defined by specific elemental allocation patterns. Distribution of Zn throughout the seed was relatively homogeneous, with limited accumulation in the testa, around the hilum and in the endosperm adjacent to the embryo. Exclusion of Zn from embryonic tissues may allow S. vulgaris to maintain reproductive success in an environment of high Zn availability.

Pine forest and grassland differently influence the response of soil microbial communities to metal contamination

Metal pollution can affect soil microbial communities, and vegetation potentially influences this relationship. It can, for example, modify the toxicity of metal to soil microbes by controlling its input to the ground or by altering soil physicochemical properties. This study examined metal effects on soil respiration, potentially active microbial biomass (SIR) and catabolic abilities of culturable heterotrophic bacterial communities (Biolog GN) in pine forest and grassland ecosystems developed on soils contaminated with Zn, Pb and Cd. In samples from non-forested areas we found that metal pollution reduced the microbial biomass and functional diversity of bacteria, while increasing the metabolic quotient. In samples from pine forests we found no relationship between metal pollution and microbial parameters. Metals induced changes in soil respiration neither in forest nor in grassland sites. Generally, microbial performance was determined predominantly by soil physicochemical properties (nutrient content, acidity, contamination level). Vegetation type seemed a minor but important factor influencing microbial communities. More work is needed to determine why even relatively high metal concentrations do not significantly affect microbial communities in forest soils.

Violets of the section Melanium, their colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their occurrence on heavy metal heaps

Violets of the sections Melanium were examined for their colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Heartsease (Viola tricolor) from several heavy metal soils was AMF-positive at many sites but not at extreme biomes. The zinc violets Viola lutea ssp. westfalica (blue zinc violet) and ssp. calaminaria (yellow zinc violet) were always AMF-positive on heavy metal soils as their natural habitats. As shown for the blue form, zinc violets germinate independently of AMF and can be grown in non-polluted garden soils. Thus the zinc violets are obligatorily neither mycotrophs nor metalophytes. The alpine V. lutea, likely ancestor of the zinc violets, was at best poorly colonized by AMF. As determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, the contents of Zn and Pb were lower in AMF colonized plants than in the heavy metal soils from where the samples had been taken. AMF might prevent the uptake of toxic levels of heavy metals into the plant organs. Dithizone staining indicated a differential deposition of heavy metals in tissues of heartsease. Leaf hairs were particularly rich in heavy metals, indicating that part of the excess of heavy metals is sequestered into these cells.

Nuclear microprobe studies of elemental distribution in seeds of Biscutella laevigata L. from zinc wastes in Olkusz, Poland

Abstract Biscutella laevigata L. (Brassicaceae), a rare perennial metallophyte plant species known mainly from Central and Southern Europe, has a very restricted distribution in Poland. This investigation focuses on one known Polish lowland location of B. laevigata on zinc dumps near Olkusz, Upper Silesia. The results presented are a continuation of earlier studies, undertaken to understand mechanisms of plant adaptation to a hostile environment, rich in heavy metals. The analyses were performed with 3.0 MeV protons, using the National Accelerator Centre (NAC) nuclear microprobe. Two complementary techniques, proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and proton backscattering spectrometry (BS), were simultaneously used. Quantitative elemental maps showed that seed tissue was defined by specific elemental allocation patterns. The highest concentration of Zn and other heavy metals was found in the endosperm. Within embryonic tissue, the highest amount of Zn was found in the radicle. Mapping artefacts, related to specimen shape, are discussed. The results show that plants strictly and actively select elements and their amounts taken up by different tissues. This mechanism is probably responsible for their survival.

Evaluation of SO2 and NO2-related degradation of coniferous forest stands in Poland

Poland has been for many years under the strong influence of air pollutants (mainly SO2, NO2 and heavy metals) which have inflicted significant damage on Polish forests. A 3-year study on the degradation of coniferous stands assessment as opposed to the level of acidic air pollutants was carried out in various regions of Poland. Concentrations of SO2 and NO2 in the atmosphere showed significant seasonal variation (monthly range from 0 to 95 and 0.5 to 22 μg m−3 considerably for SO2 and NO2), reaching the highest levels in winter. Their concentrations varied between the sites. Sulphur and nitrogen concentrations in the needles of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) (666–2511 μg g−1) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) (900–2438 μg g−1) were high and exceeded the levels considered normal from 100 to 400%. Levels of S and N varied seasonally, between the years and sites. All analysed needles from all stations were damaged identifying the beginning to more severe degradation of epicuticular wax structure. Stage of epicuticular wax structures showed a relationship with S content in the needles. Both levels of S and N concentration and erosion of the needle surface wax were in most cases connected to the concentrations of acidic gas in the air.