Study on the content of heavy metals in plants which occupy active ash settling ponds of the Dolna Odra Power Plant

Morphological Features of Plants on Ash Settling Ponds. Case Study

“…The studies by Falkowski et al [ 41 ] demonstrated that Agrostis stolonifera is resistant to pollution with copper, and Poa pratenis to pollution with chromium. The studies by Gamrat et al [ 4 ] confirmed only copper phytoaccumulation in Agrostis stolonifera as the content of chromium in Poa pratensis was among the lowest values. Large area covered with grass species results from the resistance of the species, since, apart from the biological features, the expansion of Agrostis stolonifera and Poa pratensis , according to Falkowski et al [ 41 ], was made possible due to chemical properties of these plants (cyanogenic glycosides and saponins, respectively).…”

“…The identified plant species showed no habitat preference or were found on weakly acidified habitats [ 7 ], which allowed colonisation of transformed habitats of low pH values (5.22–6.55 [ 32 ]). However, in the area of the analysed ash settling ponds, pH values were high—7.96 [ 4 ].…”

“…Some time after the ash settling ponds was flooded and during the gradual drying up, the surface was successively populated by plants. In the first part of the work [4] the species composition of flora was determined in 18 plots that were separated on the surface of the settling ponds, and the chemical composition of the ash substrate and plants was analyzed in terms of the content of selected elements (Table 7). Some time after the ash settling ponds was flooded and during the gradual drying up, the surface was successively populated by plants.…”

“…Plants can colonise almost any habitats, both natural as well as anthropogenic [ 1 , 2 ]. Diversity of flora and its potential to adapt to variable environmental conditions enables expansion even to extremely transformed areas, such as ash settling ponds [ 3 , 4 ]. Owing to constant changes in water conditions and, consequently, chemical composition of water/substrate, these objects do not easily undergo plant succession [ 5 ].…”

“…Thus, a longer biomass of green parts, i.e., stems, leaves) indicates a better (wider/deeper) development of the root system [ 11 ]. However, in the experimental plots, the ash substrate contains not only nutrients, but also numerous heavy metals (HMs) [ 4 , 12 ] the presence of which negatively affects the biochemical processes taking place in the plants. This limitation especially applies to the development of seeds, associated with a significant energy expenditure for the plant.…”