Impact of Ecochemical Soil Conditions on Selected Heavy Metals Content in Garden Allotment Vegetables

摘要

The objective of our study was to investigate the activity of selected soil enzymes (dehydrogenases, phosphatases, urease, and protease), as well as cadmium and lead concentrations, in soils and vegetables from gardening allotments in areas exposed to industrial contamination and from areas of similar physiographic conditions but that were not exposed to the direct impact of industrial emissions. Investigations comprised eight gardening allotments situated in the area of Upper Silesia (Miasteczko Slaskie, Zabrze) and in cities in eastern Poland (Lublin, Stalowa Wola). Strong correlations were demonstrated between cadmium and lead concentrations in the soil and root systems of analyzed plants (red beet, carrot, parsley). The observed high inactivation of the examined enzymes in soils exposed to strong anthropogenic influence (the area of Upper Silesia) confirms that soil environment contamination with Cd and Pb reached levels that threaten living organisms.