Trifolium pratense and the Heavy Metal Content in Various Urban Areas

Arlinda Cakaj (), Anetta Hanć, Marta Lisiak-Zielińska, Klaudia Borowiak and Maria Drapikowska
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Arlinda Cakaj: Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Piątkowska 94C, 60-649 Poznań, Poland
Anetta Hanć: Department of Trace Analysis, Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 8, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
Marta Lisiak-Zielińska: Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Piątkowska 94C, 60-649 Poznań, Poland
Klaudia Borowiak: Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Piątkowska 94C, 60-649 Poznań, Poland
Maria Drapikowska: Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Piątkowska 94C, 60-649 Poznań, Poland

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Effective biomonitoring strategies are essential for identifying and assessing the sources and levels of contamination of heavy metal pollutants in urban areas, given their negative impacts on human health and the environment. This study aimed to assess the potential of common weed, Trifolium pratense as a bioindicator of heavy metal contamination in various land uses in urban areas, with a focus on Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, and Pb. The results have shown that Cr and Ni had high bioconcentration factor (BCF) values in most sites, in comparison with Cu, Cd and Pb. Contamination factor (CF) values varied across all sites. The industrial area and old town sites had the highest translocation factor (TF) values for Cr and Ni, indicating greater transport of these metals from roots to aerial parts of plants. Differences between heavy metals (HMs) according to land use were observed; especially, Pb and Cu were more concentrated in soils than other heavy metals in industrial areas. Overall, these findings suggest that Trifolium pratense is a promising bioindicator for heavy metal contamination in various land uses in urban areas, making it a potentially valuable tool for monitoring heavy metal pollution in cities of the northern hemisphere.

Keywords: biomonitoring; red clover; plant uptake; soil pollution; aerial pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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