Content of lead and cadmium in aboveground plant organs of grasses growing on the areas adjacent to a route of big traffic

Abstract

The effect of traffic on the content of lead and cadmium in grass morphological parts—leaves, shoots, and inflorescences—was studied. The samples were taken on a part of the European route E30 (Siedlce by road). The following plants were tested: Dactylis glomerata, Arrhenatherum elatius, and Alopecurus pratensis. During the flowering of grasses, the plant material was collected at distances of 1, 5, 10, and 15 m from the edge of the road, on the strip of road with a length of 9 km. In the collected plant parts, the content of lead and cadmium using the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) method was determined. The effect of distance from the road on the content of lead and cadmium was evaluated using regression equations. Average lead content in the above parts of tested grass species was 3.56, while cadmium 0.307 mg kg−1 dry matter (DM). Lead content in plants of Alopecurus pratensis (average 4.11 mg kg−1 DM) was significantly higher than in other grasses. The lowest cadmium content, significantly different from the other species, was found in plants of Arrhenatherum elatius (0.251 mg kg−1 DM). Distance of sampling sites from the roadway significantly affects the differences in the content of cadmium and lead in plants. Analyzed aboveground plant organs of studied grasses were significantly different in contents of lead and cadmium. There were species differences in the proportions of cadmium concentration in various organs of plants. The obtained results indicate the possibility of species composition selection of grassland sward in areas with a higher risk of heavy metals associated with dust sedimentation.

Lead and Cadmium Content in Grass Growing Near An Expressway

“…In Poland, the concentration of this chemical element varied between different species of grass in the range from 0.1 to 2.6 mg kg −1 DM, whereas for D . glomerata L., these values ranged from 0.05 to 0.80 mg kg −1 DM (Jankowski et al 2015). According to Kabata-Pendias (2004), the maximum limits of the content of different heavy metals in forage are as follows: < 100 mg Zn < 30 mg Cu < 20 mg Cr < 50 mg Ni < 10 mg Pb < 0.5 mg Cd kg −1 DM.…”

“…The fact that grass can grow very quickly, even in small areas, and that it is an all-season plant is a reason why it was used in some studies in a very successful way to monitor pollution (Olajire and Ayodele 1997; Garcia and Milan 1998; Lai and Chen 2004; Filipek-Mazur et al 2007; Cicek et al 2012). Emission of heavy metals (lead and cadmium) coming from roads can cause diverse pollution of grass species and their morphological parts (De Nicola et al 2003; Naszradi et al 2004; Jankowski et al 2015). …”

Metal Content in Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Leaves: Influence of Vehicular Traffic and Safety upon Consumption as Food

“…In many cases dandelion is collected in fields close to roads with heavy traffic. Car traffic is a considerable source of heavy metals [20,21], which are believed to be very dangerous roadside pollutants [22,23]. In addition to lead and cadmium, believed to be an inseparable part of dust issued by motor vehicles, zinc and copper are among the most common soil and vegetation pollutants in the area of communication routes [24].…”

Analysis of cadmium and lead using atomic absorption spectrophotometer in roadside soils of Jimma town

“…As the study result indicated there is no sampling sites recorded a lead and cadmium concentration beyond the world health organization (WHO) permissible limit of 100 and 3.12mg/kg respectively. 11,[13][14][15] An average soil lead and cadmium concentration in these studied sites was in the estimated natural concentration 35mg/Kg to 50mg/ Kg and 0.5mg/Kg to 5mg/Kg. However, the concentration of such a heavy metal in these sampling sites were below the world health organization permissible limit the soil sample taken from sampling site of roadside exposed to gasoline and vehicular emission shows a considerable difference in concentration of lead and cadmium in relative to the soil of non-gasoline area.…”