The risk element accumulation ability of two groups of epigeic species, insects from families Coleoptera and Hymenoptera (namely Formicidae), was determined and related to soil risk element content and bioaccessibility. The study was conducted in the district of Příbram, Czech Republic, which was characterised by extremely high aged pollution in the soils, including risk elements, especially As, Pb, Zn and Cd, due to the former mining and smelting activity. Four sampling sites differing in their pseudo-total risk element contents were selected and composite samples of individuals representing either Coleoptera or Formicidae were sampled at the individual sampling points. The results indicate the ability of Coleoptera and Formicidae organisms to accumulate risk elements, especially at the location with extremely high soil risk element content. In soil containing up to 841 mg As kg-1, 84.6 mg Cd kg-1, 4250 mg Pb kg-1 and 8542 mg Zn kg-1, contents in insect bodies reached 239 mg As kg-1 As, 24.2 mg Cd kg-1, 70.4 mg Pb kg-1 and 335 mg Zn kg-1 in beetles and up to 20.9 mg As kg-1, 29.9 mg Cd kg-1, 111 mg Pb kg-1 and 657 mg Zn kg-1 in ants. Therefore, bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) varied between 0.02 and 0.55. Increasing Cd content in Coleoptera bodies with increasing soil pseudo-total element content was observed only among the investigated elements. However, the results indicate increasing BAF values with decreasing soil element levels, especially for Cd, Pb and Zn, indicating limited uptake of elements by the organisms living in contact with extremely contaminated soil.

• Keywords
• Anthropogenic contamination, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Risk elements, Soil,
• MeSH
• Coleoptera chemistry   drug effects   MeSH
• Ants chemistry   drug effects   MeSH
• Mining MeSH
• Soil Pollutants analysis   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Environmental Monitoring methods   MeSH
• Soil chemistry   MeSH
• Metals, Heavy analysis   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Soil Pollutants MeSH
• Soil MeSH
• Metals, Heavy MeSH

The aims of this study were to investigate the occurrence and distribution of total mercury (Hg) and other trace elements of environmental concern, such as arsenic (As), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and vanadium (V), in soils from the abandoned Merník cinnabar mine in eastern Slovakia. For this purpose, thirty soil samples from two depth intervals within the mine area (n = 60 soil samples) and additional sixteen soil samples from adjacent areas (n = 25 soil samples) were collected. Total Hg was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry, while As and other metals were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. High mercury concentrations (> 100 mg/kg with a maximum of 951 mg/kg) were observed only in surface soils close to mine waste heaps and adits. Otherwise, Hg concentrations in the majority of surface soils were lower (0.14-19.7 mg/kg), however, higher than Hg in soils collected from sites outside the mine area (0.19-6.92 mg/kg) and even considerably higher than Hg in soils at sites not influenced by the Merník mine. Elevated Cr and Ni concentrations in soils regardless of their sampling sites (mean of 276 mg/kg and median of 132 mg/kg for Cr and 168 mg/kg and 81 mg/kg for Ni, respectively) were attributed to the lithology of the area; the soils are underlain by the sediments of the Central Carpathian Palaeogene, containing a detritus of ultrabasic rocks. As our geochemical data are compositional in nature, they were further treated by compositional data analysis (CoDA). Robust principal component analysis (RPCA) applied on centred (clr) log-ratio-transformed data and correlation analysis of compositional parts based on symmetric balances distinguished very well different sources of origin for the chemical elements. The following three element associations were identified: Hg association with the main source in mining/roasting, Cr-Ni association derived from bedrock and As-Cu-Mn-Pb-Zn-V association (natural background and minor sulphides/sulfosalts in mineralized rocks). The values of geoaccumulation index and enrichment factor suggested that concentrations of Hg in the soils were influenced by human industrial activities.

• Keywords
• Compositional data analysis, Contamination, Mercury, Mine soil, Nickel, Slovakia,
• MeSH
• Chromium analysis   MeSH
• Mining MeSH
• Soil Pollutants analysis   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Human Activities MeSH
• Environmental Monitoring MeSH
• Nickel analysis   MeSH
• Soil chemistry   MeSH
• Mercury analysis   MeSH
• Mercury Compounds MeSH
• Trace Elements analysis   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Slovakia MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Chromium MeSH
• cinnabar MeSH Browser
• Soil Pollutants MeSH
• Nickel MeSH
• Soil MeSH
• Mercury MeSH
• Mercury Compounds MeSH
• Trace Elements MeSH

Central Bohemia (Czech Republic) has highly developed industry and a dense rail network. Here, we aimed to determine the content of risk elements in dandelion plants (Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia) growing near train stations, industrial enterprises, and in the city parks of 16 cities in the Central Bohemian region. The highest element contents in the soils were found in industrial areas affected by the historical mining and smelting activities; contemporary industry showed no substantial effect on the soil element contents. The median values of element contents (As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) at the railway station sites were the highest among the monitored sites, where the differences between park and station sites were significant for Be, Co, and Zn. Although the intensity of the traffic at the individual stations differed, we found that long-term regular traffic enhanced the element contents in the soils and, subsequently, in the plants. For Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, V, and Zn, the highest median element contents were found in plant roots, regardless of the sampling site. For Cd and Zn, the contents in leaves were higher than in the inflorescences, and the opposite pattern was recorded for Co and Cu. As and Be were distributed equally among the plant parts. Among the sampling sites, the As, Be, Cd, Zn, and Pb contents in the plant roots tended to have higher median values at the station sites, confirming the results of our soil analyses. We detected a fairly good correlation between soil and plant content for cadmium, regardless of the sampling site, soil element content, or analyzed part of the plant. Thus, we propose that dandelion is a suitable bioindicator of cadmium pollution of soil.

• Keywords
• City parks, Dandelion, Industrial areas, Railway stations, Risk elements, Soil,
• MeSH
• Environmental Biomarkers physiology   MeSH
• Cadmium analysis   MeSH
• Soil Pollutants analysis   MeSH
• Environmental Monitoring methods   MeSH
• Industry MeSH
• Soil MeSH
• Risk MeSH
• Taraxacum chemistry   MeSH
• Metals, Heavy analysis   MeSH
• Cities MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Cities MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Environmental Biomarkers MeSH
• Cadmium MeSH
• Soil Pollutants MeSH
• Soil MeSH
• Metals, Heavy MeSH

Potential changes in the mobility and bioavailability of risk and essential macro- and micro-elements achieved by adding various ameliorative materials were evaluated in a model pot experiment. Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was cultivated under controlled condition for 60 days in two soils, uncontaminated Chernozem and multi-element contaminated Fluvisol containing 4900 ± 200 mg/kg Zn, 35.4 ± 3.6 mg/kg Cd, and 3035 ± 26 mg/kg Pb. The treatments were all contained the same amount of sulfur and were as follows: (i) digestate from the anaerobic fermentation of biowaste, (ii) fly ash from wood chip combustion, and (iii) ammonium sulfate. Macro- and micro-nutrients Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Mn, Cu, P, and S, and risk elements Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn were assayed in soil extracts with 0.11 mol/l solution of CH3COOH and in roots, shoots, and grain of wheat after 30 and 60 days of cultivation. Both digestate and fly ash increased levels of macro- and micro-nutrients as well as risk elements (especially Cd and Zn; the mobility of Pb decreased after 30 days of cultivation). The changes in element mobility in ammonium sulfate-treated soils appear to be due to both changes in soil pH level and inter-element interactions. Ammonium sulfate tended to be the most effective measure for increasing nutrient uptake by plants in Chernozem but with opposite pattern in Fluvisol. Changes in plant yield and element uptake in treated plants may have been associated with the higher proline content of wheat shoots cultivated in both soils compared to control. None of the treatments decreased uptake of risk elements by wheat plants in the extremely contaminated Fluvisol, and their accumulation in wheat grains significantly exceeded maximum permissible levels; these treatments cannot be used to enable cereal and other crop production in such soils. However, the combination of increased plant growth alongside unchanged element content in plant biomass in pots treated with digestate and fly ash suggests that these treatments have a beneficial impact on yield and may be effective treatments in crops grown for phytoremediation.

• MeSH
• Biodegradation, Environmental MeSH
• Hydrogen-Ion Concentration MeSH
• Soil Pollutants analysis   metabolism   MeSH
• Nutritional Requirements MeSH
• Oxidative Stress MeSH
• Coal Ash analysis   chemistry   MeSH
• Proline metabolism   MeSH
• Triticum growth & development   metabolism   MeSH
• Soil chemistry   MeSH
• Risk MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Soil Pollutants MeSH
• Coal Ash MeSH
• Proline MeSH
• Soil MeSH

The concentration of mercury was determined in samples of the lichen Hypogymnia physodes, the moss Pleurozium schreberi, and the soil humus collected in Polish and Czech Euroregions Praded and Glacensis. The sampling sites were located in Bory Stobrawskie, Bory Niemodlińskie and Kotlina Kłodzka in Poland, and in Jeseniki and Gory Orlickie in the Czech Republic. The mean concentrations of mercury accumulated in the lichen (0.129 mg g(-1)), in the moss (0.094 mg g(-1)) and in soil (0.286 mg g(-1)) were fairly close to the corresponding concentrations in other low-industrialized regions. The highest concentrations of mercury were observed in the lichen and the moss samples from Kotlina Kłodzka. The primary deposition of mercury was evaluated using the comparison factor, defined as the ratio of a difference between the concentrations of a bioavailable analyte in lichens and in mosses, to the arithmetic mean of these concentrations.

• MeSH
• Bryophyta chemistry   MeSH
• Ecosystem MeSH
• Environmental Pollutants analysis   MeSH
• Lichens chemistry   MeSH
• Bryopsida chemistry   MeSH
• Environmental Monitoring MeSH
• Soil chemistry   MeSH
• Mercury analysis   MeSH
• Trees MeSH
• Environmental Pollution statistics & numerical data   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Poland MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Environmental Pollutants MeSH
• Soil MeSH
• Mercury MeSH