Bioindicative studies of roadside ecosystems

Abstract

The object of the research is the ecosystems that are directly adjacent to the Ukrainian highways of interstate, state and regional importance. The areas on the roads М02, М03, Н07, Н12 and Р44 were under investigation. Assessment of the emissions of roadside ecosystems is a perspective and difficult task. One of the key problems is the detection of the trends of vehicles movement impact on roadside ecosystems. During the study, bioindicative methods were used. The lichen indication method was used to study the pollution of atmospheric air by sulfur oxides. Phytotesting of soils from the studied sites was also applied. The results of bioindicative studies have shown that the level of air pollution by sulfur dioxide along the highways of inter-state importance is higher than others. At the sites of these roads, the concentration of sulfur dioxide exceeds the maximum permissible. This can be explained by the intensive movement of vehicles, including trucks. After all, combustion of diesel fuel is a significant source of sulfur dioxide. According to the calculation of phytotoxicity effect of the soil, selected on the studied sites, the highest level of soil contamination is also observed along the interstate highways. The studies have shown that the impact on roadside ecosystems depends on the category of a highway, as well as its technical condition. The impact level is higher on the roads with high traffic density and areas with poor technical roadbed condition.