Effect of anthropopressure on cadmium content in grasses – pot experiment

摘要

One of the elements that pose a high risk to human health even in small doses is cadmium. The occurrence of cadmium and its bioaccumulation is a huge threat to the natural environment and to the proper functioning of the trophic chain. That is why it has been recognized by all international organizations, that is, WHO, FAO, UNEP as a priority threat on a global scale. In the trophic chain, the most exposed to elevated levels of heavy metals are plants, especially those that come from areas subject to heavy anthropogenic stress. Water is also threatened by the increase of pollution under the influence of anthropogenic pressure. Therefore, the content of cadmium in the leachates was determined during the experiment. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of anthropogenization of the natural environment on the content of cadmium in grasses and in leachates. The research included a pot experiment conducted in four groups of containers with an increasing degree of soil contamination with cadmium. The plant used for the tests was the quackgrass (Elymus repens). Three swaths were collected during the experiment. It can be noticed that the quackgrass which grew in the control group containers, took much lower amounts of cadmium compared with the other groups in which there were larger amounts of this element in the soil. The increase in the concentration of cadmium in leachates, which is progressing with the increase in the degree of soil contamination in cadmium, may also confirm the impact of anthropopression on the natural environment. The existence of a significant positive correlation between the increasing content of cadmium in the soil and the content of this element in above-ground parts of plants, regardless of the swath, suggests the impact of anthropopressure on the natural environment.