Abstract
PAHs belong to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) found in the natural environment. They eventually accumulate in the highest quantities in soil. The purpose of this study has been to determine quantities of PAHs in soil depending on the method applied to control weeds in rows of a 4-year plantation of hazel (mulch fabric, bark chips, sawdust, manure compost, bare fallow, chemical fallow, grass sward). The highest concentration of PAHs (16 PAHs) was found in soil kept as bare fallow. The second most abundant concentration of these compounds was determined in soil under grass sward, followed by soil under sawdust, chemical fallow, and fabric. Less of these compounds accumulated in soil mulched with bark chips. The best method for protection of orchard soil against the accumulation of unwanted and toxic PAHs was mulching with manure compost. In most cases, lower concentrations of PAHs (total 16) were found in the subsoil (30–60 cm) than in the topmost soil layer, except the soil covered with mulch fabric, where fourfold more PAHs accumulated.
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons belong to toxic and carcinogenic compounds
The concentration of two- and three-ring aromatic hydrocarbons dominated the accumulation of 16 PAHs in soil (Fig. 2)
The soil from the treatments where mulch fabric, bark chips, and manure compost had been applied contained the smallest amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons composed of two and three benzene rings
Summary
They appear in practically all elements of the natural environment exposed to human impact They can arrive into the environment components (soils, atmosphere, and water) from natural and anthropogenic sources (Jancewicz et al 2015; Tsibart and Gennadiev 2013). They are generated by incomplete coal combustion, contamination of soil with petrol or diesel oil (Kucharski et al 2010; Borowik and Wyszkowska 2018b), but changes in their concentration have been noted due to natural mineralization of organic matter in soil (Mrozik et al 2003; Wyszkowski and Ziółkowska 2013). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are hardly mobile, practically insoluble in water, characterized by high affinity to organic matter and do not undergo physical or chemical degradation, they can be
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