Using Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata in environmental pollution research in an urban area of Southern Poland

Iryna Skrynetska,Aleksandra Nadgórska-Socha,Marta Kandziora-Ciupa,Gabriela Barczyk,Jagna Karcz,Ryszard Ciepał

doi:10.1007/s11356-019-05535-x

Iryna Skrynetska, Aleksandra Nadgórska-Socha + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05535-x

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to perform a complex assessment of changes in the elements of an ecosystem that are caused by environmental pollution in industrial and urban biotopes. The study focused on three sites: a park, a road and the site of the metallurgical plant “Pokój” in the city of Ruda Śląska (Southern Poland), which are each under a different level of anthropogenic load. Soil and plant material samples (Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata leaves) were investigated by performing biochemical, ecophysiological and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. A significant difference was observed in all of the study samples. The content of Pb, Zn and Cd in the soil samples that had been collected at the site of the metallurgical plant exceeded the permitted limits (Cd > 4 mg kg−1, Pb > 100 mg kg−1, Zn > 300 mg kg−1). The content of Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd and Zn in the plant material was much higher in unwashed samples than in washed samples. The concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) were below the permitted level in the leaves of Plantago lanceolata for Cd (> 5 mg kg−1) and in the leaves of Plantago major for Zn (> 100 mg kg−1). The SEM observations revealed a significant decrease in the stomata pore length (SPL) in the Plantago lanceolata leaves that had been collected at the road site compared with the plants from the park site. The elemental content on the leaf surface was also determined using X-ray microanalysis. The total chlorophyll (Chl) content, ascorbic acid (AA), proline, guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) activity, pH, relative water content (RWC) and air pollution tolerance index (APTI) were evaluated. The APTI for the investigated species ranged from 5.6 to 7.4, which demonstrated that the studied plant species are sensitive to air pollutants.

Highlights

Over the last several decades, the quality of the environment has undergone a significant deterioration, which was primarily due to rapid developments in industry as well as urbanisation
The examinations of the leaves of Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata showed anatomical, biochemical and ecophysiological changes in the plant samples that had been collected from an industrialized urban area
Strong correlations were found between the stomata pore length (SPL) and the ecophysiological parameters (RWC, air pollution tolerance index (APTI), Chl, ascorbic acid (AA), proline content)

Summary

Introduction

Over the last several decades, the quality of the environment has undergone a significant deterioration, which was primarily due to rapid developments in industry as well as urbanisation. The stomata, which regulate the flow of gases entering into or escaping out of leaves, are an excellent site to study the interaction between plants and their environment because they are the first to be affected by air pollution, which may cause changes in their morphology (Robinson et al 1998; Kardel et al 2010; Uka et al 2017). There are many different biochemical and physiological mechanisms that help plants adapt to pollutants, and their efficiency can be assessed by a number of parameters such as the total chlorophyll (Chl) content, ascorbic acid (AA) content, pH and relative water content (RWC). All of these indexes make up the so-called air pollution tolerance index (APTI). Proline accumulation is regarded as an indicator of heavy metal stress and enzymatic antioxidant components such as GPX may be used as an indicator of environmental stress for an ecosystem (KandzioraCiupa et al 2017; Nadgórska-Socha et al 2017)

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