Abstract
The study was conducted to detect toxicity in urban soils of Vasileostrovsky Ostrov and Elagin Ostrov in St. Petersburg, Russia, an area characterised by wide variation in land use. A total of 37 soil samples were collected from the two study areas. Garden cress, Lepidium sativum, (L. sativum) was used as the test organism to detect the presence of toxic soils. The results indicated that soils from Vasileostrovsky Ostrov were toxic to L. sativum; the level of toxicity ranged between 40–60% (mild to moderately toxic). Tests of soils from Elagin Ostrov revealed that soils, generally, were nontoxic (90–100%). The results of most examined samples showed that soil extract had a stimulating effect on the growth of fronds; however there were few instances whereby soil extract inhibited the growth of L. sativum. The results from the study indicated that L. sativum is capable of detecting toxic soils. The different reactions from L. sativum to soil extracts could be attributed to site-specific conditions. The study recommends the use of L. sativum as a test organism to conduct biomonitoring of urban soil on a wide scale because of its simplicity, sensitivity, and cost-effectiveness.
Highlights
Contaminated soils have come under increased focus for regulators; soils contain a record of the environmental history of an area and can pose a primary environmental risk if not given the necessary appraisal and monitoring attention (Andreiva, Baeva, & Barkova, 1998; Nautilus Environmental, 2011)
The results indicated that soils from Vasileostrovsky Ostrov were toxic to L. sativum; the level of toxicity ranged between 40–60%
There was significant response of soil extracts to stimulate the growth of L. sativum and subsequently on its biomass
Summary
Contaminated soils have come under increased focus for regulators; soils contain a record of the environmental history of an area and can pose a primary environmental risk if not given the necessary appraisal and monitoring attention (Andreiva, Baeva, & Barkova, 1998; Nautilus Environmental, 2011). Soil toxicity tests are used to provide an accurate and reliable evaluation of the combined toxicity of chemical substances that are bioavailable in the soil (Nautilus Environmental, 2011). Growing social concern about environmental quality is perceived to be on the increase in recent years, both on a global and local scale. This is connected with more convincing evidence that environmental pollution, for example, results in degradation of particular ecosystems (Gadzała-Kopciuch, Buszewski, Bartoszewicz, & Buszewski, 2004). Emission of harmful substances from human activities into the natural environments has negative effects on both the environment and human health. It has been observed that chronic toxic effects, impossible to notice at the initial stage of the process, may manifest themselves after many years (Borisenko, 1989; Nałęcz-Jawecki & Sawicki, 1998; Alloway & Ayres, 1997; Gadzala-Kopcuich et al, 2004)
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