Investigation of Concentration and Distribution of Elements in Three Environmental Compartments in the Region of Mitrovica, Kosovo: Soil, Honey and Bee Pollen

Abstract

The abundances of selected elements in different environmental compartments, namely soil, honey, and bee pollen, was determined in this study. For that purpose, sixteen soil and honey samples, and nine pollen samples were taken in the region of Mitrovica, Kosovo. The concentration of elements was measured by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Pollution level concentrations of Pb, Zn, As, and Cd were observed in soil. The level of soil pollution was estimated by calculating pollution indices. Pb was also observed at high concentrations in honey, as was Cd and Pb in pollen. Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed mostly weak and moderate correlations of the concentrations of the eight selected elements among the soil, honey, and pollen samples. Several groups of elements with geogenic and anthropogenic origin were identified by hierarchical cluster analysis. The concentrations of selected heavy metals for soil and honey were compared to those in neighboring countries, and those for pollen with samples from Turkey, Serbia, and Jordan.

Effects of Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and environmental pollution assessment in Campania region (Italy) through the analysis of heavy metals in honeybees

“…Among these, bees proved to be a valid bioindicator due to their foraging activities ( Giglio et al, 2017 ); hence, their application in environmental monitoring could be also reliable during Covid-19 emergency. Indeed, bees travel over large areas of approximately 7 km 2 from the colony and encounter various differently contaminated environmental substrates ( Goretti et al, 2020 ; Johnson, 2015 ; Kastrati et al, 2021 ). They can be a carrier for heavy metals from the environment to hives in a variety of ways, such as by accumulating airborne particulate matter on their furry bodies during flight, through the water or by picking up heavy metals from pollen and nectar accumulated in the plants due to contaminated soil ( Negri et al, 2015 ; Van Der Steen et al, 2012 ; Zaric et al, 2018 ).…”

Determination and Statistical Analysis of Atmospheric Deposition of Heavy Metals in Kosovo. A Moss Survey

“…Considering the fact that geologic areas where Cu concentration is higher, do not always correspond with pollution sources, it may be thought that Cu occurs in mosses due to natural processes. Particularly high concentrations of these heavy metals in the north have been reported also for soil samples (Šajn et al 2013;Kerolli-Mustafa et al 2015b;Kastrati et al 2021), which partly explains their concentration in mosses. Fine dust particles contaminated with heavy metals, can become airborne during dry seasons and spread by wind in larger areas.…”

Multi-Elemental Analysis as a Tool to Ascertain the Safety and the Origin of Beehive Products: Development, Validation, and Application of an ICP-MS Method on Four Unifloral Honeys Produced in Sardinia, Italy

“…First, the health-promoting properties of honey must be coupled with the highest level of food safety and, consequently, the concentration of toxic elements should be negligible. Thus, honey is considered a valuable bioindicator of environmental pollution [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ] because its chemical composition is strictly related to the environmental quality of the area next to the beehive [ 22 , 23 ]. In fact, the concentration of some potentially toxic elements has been found to be higher in hive matrices from industrial and urban areas with respect to what was measured in uncontaminated areas [ 18 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…Despite trace elements being determined in honeys from many countries, such as Bulgaria [ 12 ], Kosovo [ 20 ], Ethiopia [ 24 ], Turkey [ 26 ], Italy [ 18 , 27 , 32 , 33 ], Poland and Greece [ 31 ], Hungary [ 34 ], and New Zealand [ 35 ], there are few contributions to the literature reporting on the amounts of trace elements in unifloral honeys produced in Sardinia. The literature is also poor regarding studies reporting on the elemental composition of the honeys of asphodel, eucalyptus, strawberry tree, and thistle produced out of Sardinia.…”