Przydatność biotestu Phytotoxkit do badania zanieczyszczenia gleb metalami ciężkimi
Usefulness of the Phytotoxkit biotest for testing soil contamination with heavy metals

Summary/Abstract: An experiment was carried out to test the resistance of four soils to contamination with heavy metals. The sampling sites were located approximately 40 m from the S8 expressway. It was assumed that the expressway would be a potential source of soil contamination with heavy metals in the future. One meadow soil and three arable soils were tested. The research attempted to verify the degrees of soil contamination with heavy metals determined by the IUNG. To determine soil resistance, the Phytotoxkit biotest was used. It was investigated how soil solutions with different contents of heavy metal cations (zinc, cadmium, nickel, copper and lead) affect the growth of cress in the germination phase. Based on measurements of the length of cress roots after 3 days, clear growth inhibition was found caused by various concentrations of heavy metals in the soil. The granulometric composition, soil reaction and organic carbon content were also examined. The grain size of all tested soils was similar and can be described as clayey sands. The soil from grassland had the highest organic carbon content and alkaline reaction. This is probably why it showed the greatest resistance to heavy metal contamination. The Phytotoxkit test showed that the inhibition of cress growth was much lower than in the case of soils from arable land. The high content of organic carbon and the favorable alkaline reaction of the soil contributed to this. Lower resistance was obtained in the study of soils from arable fields, which were characterized by the lowest organic carbon content and slightly acidic reaction. The research results confirmed the great usefulness of the Phytotoxkit biotest for assessing soil contamination with heavy metals.

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