The accumulation of elements in plants growing spontaneously on small heaps left by the historical Zn-Pb ore mining.

Anna M Stefanowicz,Paweł Kapusta,Małgorzata Stanek,Marcin W Woch

doi:10.1007/s11356-015-5859-7

Abstract

The study evaluated the levels of nine metals, namely Ca, Cd, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Pb, Tl, and Zn, in soils and tissues of ten plant species growing spontaneously on heaps left by historical mining for Zn-Pb ores. The concentrations of Cd, Pb, Tl, and Zn in heap soils were much higher than in control soils. Plants growing on heaps accumulated excessive amounts of these elements in tissues, on average 1.3–52 mg Cd kg-1, 9.4–254 mg Pb kg-1, 0.06–23 mg Tl kg-1 and 134–1479 mg Zn kg-1 in comparison to 0.5-1.1 mg Cd kg-1, 2.1–11 mg Pb kg-1, 0.02–0.06 mg Tl kg-1, and 23–124 mg Zn kg-1 in control plants. The highest concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn were found in the roots of Euphorbia cyparissias, Fragaria vesca, and Potentilla arenaria, and Tl in Plantago lanceolata. Many species growing on heaps were enriched in K and Mg, and depleted in Ca, Fe, and Mn. The concentrations of all elements in plant tissues were dependent on species, organ (root vs. shoot), and species-organ interactions. Average concentrations of Ca, K, and Mg were generally higher in shoots than in roots or similar in the two organs, whereas Cd, Fe, Pb, Tl, and Zn were accumulated predominantly in the roots. Our results imply that heaps left by historical mining for Zn-Pb ores may pose a potential threat to the environment and human health.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-015-5859-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

Contaminated sites left by historical mining and processing of metal ores, abandoned tens or hundreds of years ago, may be difficult to evaluate in terms of environmental risk, as they are often not recorded in written documents and not known to the local authorities (Eckel et al 2001)
Old heaps left by historical mining for Zn-Pb ores are Bhot spots^ of heavy metal contamination, and affect neighboring agricultural land and possibly pose a threat to the environment and people (Stefanowicz et al 2014)
This study proved that plants overgrowing old heaps accumulate much higher amounts of Cd, Pb, Tl, and Zn than the plants from control sites

Summary

Introduction

Contaminated sites left by historical mining and processing of metal ores, abandoned tens or hundreds of years ago, may be difficult to evaluate in terms of environmental risk, as they are often not recorded in written documents and not known to the local authorities (Eckel et al 2001) Relics of the former metal industry, such as waste heaps, tend to disappear from the landscape, for example as a result of the denudation process. Western Małopolska, located in southern Poland, is one of the oldest regions of mining and processing of metal ores in Central Europe These activities have lasted there for centuries, leaving traces, such as old heaps of waste rock (Aleksander-Kwaterczak and Ciszewski 2013; Stefanowicz et al 2014). These heaps are, Bhot-spots^ of metal contamination, which can affect neighboring agricultural land or vegetable gardens and pose a potential threat to human health (Stefanowicz et al 2014)

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