Element concentrations in forage plants grown on power station ash deposit

摘要

Intensive livestock production is concentrated in the northern part of Serbia, particularly in the vicinity of Belgrade. This area is very important for forage production, but the main power stations of the Serbian power supply system are located in thisregion and these produce high emissions of fly ash. Forage plants are exposed to the pollution effects of fly ash, and some agricultural systems are located very close to the Nikola Tesla A (TENT-A) power station. A study of three forage plants {Medicago sativa, Phalaris arundinacea,Melilotus officinalis) was done on 'TENT-A ash deposit in order to analyse bioaccumulation of maximally exposed plants. Plant samples were collected at tillering stage and concentrations of 10 elements were analysed. The results show lower concentrations of trace metals in the herbage shoots than in the ash, which had excessive contents of As, Ni and Cr. None of the examined species accumulated a high amount of the above-mentioned elements, even though they were from different families, with different morphology and dry matter yield. Alfalfa had the highest concentrations of As and Ni among the species that were analysed.