Abstract
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of distance from a road on lead and cadmium content in grass species near an expressway and to assess bioaccumulation of these elements by morphological parts of the plants. The material for the research was the following grass species in their flowering stage: Dactylis glomerata, Arrenatherum elatius, and Alopecurus pratensis. Plant samples were collected along the international E30 road, the ring-road of Siedlce, in May 2015. A 9-km road section was examined with samples collected on both sides, covering a stretch of 700 m, at the following distances from the edge of the road: 1, 5, 10, and 15 m. Five samples of each plant species and at each distance from the road were collected. Lead and cadmium concentration was determined with the AAS method. The largest amounts of Pb were absorbed by A. pratensis L. (3.843 mg kg−1DM), while the lowest by A. elatius L. (2.523 mg kg−1DM). Of the above plants, the highest amount of Cd (0.286 mg kg−1DM) was accumulated by D. glomerata L. Underground parts of the grass species accumulated greater amounts of Pb and Cd than aboveground parts. It indicates that considerable amounts of heavy metals released by expressway vehicles contaminated the soil. The highest content of Pb and Cd was found in the grass growing at a distance of 5 m from the edge of the roadway, and this applies both to underground and aboveground parts.
Highlights
The present study indicates that considerable amounts of heavy metals that were released by vehicles on the expressway contaminated the soil
Grass species tested in the experiment, namely D. glomerata L., A. pratensis L., and A. elatius L., had varied abilities to accumulate heavy metals
The largest amounts of Pb were absorbed by A. pratensis L. (3.843 mg kg−1 DM) and the lowest by A. elatius L. (2.523 mg kg−1DM)
Summary
Heavy metal contamination is a major concern, because it can lead, for example, to their bioaccumulation in the food chain, which affects human health (Peralta-Videa et al 2009), to an inhibition of biodegradation of organic contaminants (Maslin and Maier 2000; Alloway 2013), to groundwater contamination (Mulligan et al 2001), and to reduction of land and food quality (McLaughlin et al 2000; Kabata-Pendias 2004; Gardea-Torresdey et al 2005; Martin et al 2017). The structures on leaf surfaces, grooves, bristles, or specific chemicals, such as wax, play a major role in this process (Naszradi et al 2004) They accumulate dust on the surface of plants in a variety of ways. The fact that grass can grow very quickly, even in small areas, and that it is an all-season plant is a reason why it was used in some studies in a very successful way to monitor pollution (Olajire and Ayodele 1997; Garcia and Milan 1998; Lai and Chen 2004; Filipek-Mazur et al 2007; Cicek et al 2012). Emission of heavy metals (lead and cadmium) coming from roads can cause diverse pollution of grass species and their morphological parts (De Nicola et al 2003; Naszradi et al 2004; Jankowski et al 2015). The problem of environmental pollution associated with road transport continues to be complex, and it has not been studied exhaustively yet
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
