Abstract
The black locust Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a common species that originated from North America. In Europe, it is an invasive and introduced plant. Due to its low habitat requirements and ecological plasticity, this species colonizes new anthropogenically transformed areas quickly. This study investigated the chemical composition of selected tissues of Robinia pseudoacacia L. in five various habitats with different levels of anthropopression conditions in southern Poland. The presented research aimed to compare the chemical composition of black locust parts tissues (leaves, branches, and seeds) and the soil under its canopy. To determine the heavy metal contamination and enrichment in soil, the geoaccumulation index, enrichment factor, contamination factor, pollution load index, and potential ecological risk index were calculated. The results showed that all examined soils are considerably or very highly contaminated and the main heavy metals, which pollute the studied samples, are cadmium (1.3–3.91 ppm), lead (78.17–157.99 ppm), and zinc (129.77–543.97 ppm). Conducted research indicates that R. pseudoacacia leaves are the primary carrier of potentially toxic elements. Due to low bioaccumulation factor (BAF) values, it is clear that black locusts do not accumulate contaminants in such amounts that it would pose risk to its use in degraded area reclamation. The obtained results showed that R. pseudoacacia is able to grow in a wide range of habitats and could be applied for greening urban habitats and disturbed ecosystems caused by industry.
Highlights
Accepted: 16 December 2021Silesia Upland is one of the most transformed areas in central Europe
Comparing the results presented in this paper with data from the Geochemical Atlas of the Upper Silesia [62], it can be seen that the content of heavy metals in the tested samples is similar to the range of the same elements in surrounding soils
By colonizing the transformed areas, R. pseudoacacia initiates soil formation processes on anthropogenic substrates characterized by different granulometric compositions, which significantly impacts the soil’s physicochemical properties; Clear differentiation in terms of the main elements (Fe, Ca, P, Mg, Al, K, S) content was found in the chemical composition of black locust leaves, branches, seeds, and soil materials
Summary
Accepted: 16 December 2021Silesia Upland is one of the most transformed areas in central Europe. Inept waste management has led to ecological disaster, as a result of which all elements of the natural environment have been degraded. Today, in this area, many industrial remnants, mostly coal dumps, can be found [4]. Silesia Upland’s area underwent transformations linked to intense human activity, such as landfills, parks, or agricultural areas [6]. All of this has led to massive soil degradation in the Silesia Upland. There have been actions to rehabilitate degraded areas by reintroducing vegetation and restoring soil in areas such as dumps, landfills, etc
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