Enzymatic Activity and Content of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soils under Low-Stack Emission in Lublin

Soils from the Lublin area exposed to low-stack emission from home heating and transport were investigated. Changes in soil enzymatic activity and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content were analysed. Soil samples were collected in July and November 2016 and January 2017. Results of the study show that enzymatic activity and PAHs content depended on types of buildings, study period (intensification of pollutant emission from household heating), traffic volume and atmospheric air movement. Low enzymatic activities and high PAHs contents in the soils were observed in the autumn-winter period in the areas with dense single-family housing and located in the vicinity of streets with intense road traffic

Impact of Effective Microorganisms (EM) Application on the Physical Condition of Haplic Luvisol

The study set out to determine changes in the soil air-water properties, the water-stable aggregate share and organic carbon content as effects of a five-year application of effective microorganisms (EM-A). The hypothesis that long-term applied EM-A biopreparations have a positive effect on the soil physical condition has not been confirmed. Haplic Luvisols originating from silt were studied in a field experiment after EM-A biopreparation treatment. The soil samples with the natural structure preserved intact were collected three times each year. The properties of the soil determined in the study were: particle density, total organic carbon content, bulk density, total porosity, air capacity, air permeability, soil moisture at sampling, field water capacity, available water content, unavailable water content, and water-stable aggregate content. The ratio of field water capacity and total porosity (FC/TP) was calculated. It was found that EM-A application primarily leads to a decrease in the content of organic carbon and water-stable aggregates. This was an adverse effect. Total organic carbon (TOC) and water-stable aggregates proved to be very sensitive indicators for assessing the soil physical condition. However, changes in soil compaction and air–water properties did not show significant deterioration. Our research addresses the data gaps about EM application to soil

An autoecological investigation of Desmodesmus: implications for ecology and taxonomy

Background and aims – Phenotypic plasticity is the morphological response of a single genotype to produce several different physiological and/or morphological types under changing environmental conditions. Desmodesmus, a green alga, has been well documented for its phenotypic responses (e.g. colony transformation to unicells, and spiny transformation to spineless). Two oxbow lakes (R1 and R2) and one artificial dam reservoir (R3) were used to evaluate the quantity and diversity range of Desmodesmus species occurring during four seasons of one-year. Methods – Water samples were quantified for Desmodesmus species and identified using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). To better understand the morphological responses of Desmodesmus, an axenic culture of Desmodesmus abundans, CCAP 258/299, was cultured in sterile-filtered water from each water body collected from each season. Key results – Not surprisingly, different Desmodesmus species inhabited each water body and exhibited different densities of growth, contributing 77% of the total density in R1, 22% in R2 and only 1% in R3. Summer and autumn were the seasons when Desmodesmus showed the highest density in the shallow and polymictic oxbow lakes (R1 and R2). In the deep and dimictic reservoir (R3), the highest density of Desmodesmus was during autumn. Phenotypic plasticity was observed in the experiments, with unicells being formed from colonies, some with shorter spines. Desmodesmus grown in a high concentration of nitrogen (SE, Medium 7 +3N and BBM) had a higher percentage of unicells compared to the other culture conditions. Conclusions – Our studies are important from both taxonomical and ecological points of view, since our results showed that there may be new possibilities for using the phenotypic plasticity of Desmodesmus to assess water quality and as a potential bioindicator of nutrient availability in natural ecosystems

Contents of selected macronutrients in bottom sediments of two water reservoirs and assessment of their suitability for natural use

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the contents of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium in bottom sediments of two water reservoirs. The chemical composition of the bottom sediments and the ratios between the studied macronutrients were assessed, taking into account the nutritional requirements of plants, to determine whether the sediments were suitable for use in natural/agricultural settings

An autecological investigation of Desmodesmus:implications for ecology and taxonomy

Background and aims – Phenotypic plasticity is the morphological response of a single genotype to produce several different physiological and/or morphological types under changing environmental conditions. Desmodesmus, a green alga, has been well documented for its phenotypic responses (e.g. colony transformation to unicells, and spiny transformation to spineless). Two oxbow lakes (R1 and R2) and one artificial dam reservoir (R3) were used to evaluate the quantity and diversity range of Desmodesmus species occurring during four seasons of one-year. Methods – Water samples were quantified for Desmodesmus species and identified using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). To better understand the morphological responses of Desmodesmus, an axenic culture of Desmodesmus abundans, CCAP 258/299, was cultured in sterile-filtered water from each water body collected from each season. Key results – Not surprisingly, different Desmodesmus species inhabited each water body and exhibited different densities of growth, contributing 77% of the total density in R1, 22% in R2 and only 1% in R3. Summer and autumn were the seasons when Desmodesmus showed the highest density in the shallow and polymictic oxbow lakes (R1 and R2). In the deep and dimictic reservoir (R3), the highest density of Desmodesmus was during autumn. Phenotypic plasticity was observed in the experiments, with unicells being formed from colonies, some with shorter spines. Desmodesmus grown in a high concentration of nitrogen (SE, Medium 7 +3N and BBM) had a higher percentage of unicells compared to the other culture conditions. Conclusions – Our studies are important from both taxonomical and ecological points of view, since our results showed that there may be new possibilities for using the phenotypic plasticity of Desmodesmus to assess water quality and as a potential bioindicator of nutrient availability in natural ecosystems

The Impact of Mining Waste and Biogas Digestate Addition on the Durability of Soil Aggregates

Waste management is one of the greatest contemporary challenges as the world strives for sustainable development. We set out to investigate the impact of mining waste (carboniferous rock) and organic waste (biogas digestate) on the physical properties of soils. The wastes were applied to Podzol, soil characterised by low chemical and physical quality with the particle size distribution (PSD) of loamy sand. The paper sets out to answer the question of whether a one-time application of mine and/or biogas digestate onto soil positively affects the durability of the soil structure and if the changes were permanent. For this purpose, we analysed soil texture, total organic carbon (TOC), water-stable aggregates and the mean weight diameter of water-stable aggregates (MWD). The combined addition of biogas digestate and the two types of waste improved the soil structure. The content of soil water-stable aggregates with dimensions 5–10 mm (A5–10) and 1–5 mm (A1–5) increased the MWD and the content of aggregates of diameters ) decreased. The effects of the experiment were permanent, as differences resulting from the soil treatments were still visible four years after the application. This shows that wastes, especially biogas digestate, could be successfully used in agriculture

The effect of afforestation of post-arable soils with scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on their enzymatic activity

Celem badań było określenie wpływu zalesienia gleb lekkich porolnych sosną na aktywność enzymatyczną gleby. Badania przeprowadzono na terenie Wysoczyzny Lubartowskiej (SE Polska). Wyznaczono dziesięć par stanowisk gleb zalesionych (5 z drzewostanami 14-17-letnimi oraz 5 z drzewostanami 32-36-letnimi) i sąsiadujących z nimi pól uprawnych, a także pięć stanowisk lasów naturalnych z drzewostanami ok. 130-150-letnimi. Próbki gleby pobierano z poziomu próchnicznego A i wzbogacenia Bv, z całej ich miąższości, przy czym z poziomu A gleb zalesionych z trzech kolejnych warstw: 0-5 (AI), 5-10 (AII) i 10-20 cm (AIII). Oznaczono aktywność dehydrogenaz, fosfataz, ureazy oraz proteazy. Stwierdzono, że drzewostany sosnowe po trzydziestu kilku latach wzrostu wywołały zmniejszenie aktywności ureazy i fosfataz oraz zwiększenie aktywności dehydrogenaz. W glebach pod drzewostanami ponad trzydziestoletnimi aktywność ureazy wykazała poziom bardziej zbliżony dla gleb naturalnych borów świeżych niż gleb uprawnych, a aktywność dehydrogenaz odwrotnie – bardziej podobny do gleb uprawnych niż leśnych. W przypadku fosfataz i proteazy nie stwierdzono wyraźnej prawidłowości. Wyniki wskazują, że aktywność enzymatyczna gleby może być przydatnym wskaźnikiem do oceny zmiany właściwości gleb porolnych po ich zalesieniu.The study was aimed at the determination of the effect of afforestation of post-arable light textured soils with Scots pine on their enzymatic activity. The study was conducted in the area of the Wysoczyzna Lubartowska region (SE Poland). Ten paired sites of afforested soils (five with 14- to 17-year-old stands and five with 32- to 36-year-old stands) with adjacent cultivated fields, and five sites of natural forest with the presence of tree stands ca. 130-150 years old were selected. Soil samples were taken from the whole thickness of humus (A) and B horizon and, in the case of A horizon of the afforested soils, from three layers of 0-5 (AI), 5-10 (AII) and 10-20 cm (AIII). The activity of dehydrogenases, phosphatases, urease and protease was determined. It was observed that pine stands after more than thirty years of growth caused a decrease in the activity of urease and phosphatases, and an increase in the activity of dehydrogenases. In the soils of 32- to 36-year-old stands the activity of urease was more similar to the natural forest soils than to the arable soils. Conversely, in the case of dehydrogenases it was still more similar to the arable soils. With respect to phosphatases and protease no clear relationship was noted. The results show that enzymatic activity of soil can be used as an indicator of changes in the properties of post-arable soils after their afforestation

Effects of Waste Application (Carboniferous Rock and Post-Fermentation Sludge) on Soil Quality

This paper shows the changes in soil properties in the fourth year after the application of two kinds of environmentally burdensome wastes. One of the wastes was mineral—carboniferous rock from a coal mine, and the other one was organic—post-fermentation sludge from an agricultural biogas plant. The wastes were applied once to a soil of poor quality—a Podzol. The hypothesis to be verified was that one-time application of waste carboniferous rock and/or post-fermentation sludge to a soil has a beneficial effect on the physical status of the soil, and the changes in the soil properties have a permanent character. Also, based on the experiment results, we suggested how these types of waste should be applied to soil. For that purpose, an assessment was performed of the durability, range, and character of changes in soil properties, inter alia: soil texture (PSD), total organic carbon content (TOC), particle density (PD), bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), air capacity (FAC), air permeability (FAP), sampling moisture (SM), field water capacity (FC), available water (AWC), unavailable water (UWC), and hydraulic conductivity (Ks). Some soil properties have been improved by the use of post-fermentation sludge and the combined application of the two wastes. These were the following soil properties: PSD, TOC, BD, TP, and SM. However, changes to the soil air-water properties (FAC, FAP, FC, AWC, UWC, and Ks) were unfavorable. The effect of the waste’s application was permanent, as differences in soil properties were still visible in the fourth year after their addition. The observations made in the course of the experiment indicate that natural utilization of wastes requires a lot of consideration and should be focused on keeping the balance in the relations between the environmental functions of the soil

Spatial distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals in bottom sediments of two small dam reservoirs (south-east Poland)

Sediments of two dam reservoirs in SE Poland, Zalew Zemborzycki (ZZ) and Brody Iłżeckie (BI) were studied. The sediments from both reservoirs were sampled in the transects perpendicular to the shoreline, at the river inflow and the frontal dam. The total concentration of Mn, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr and Ni was determined by ICP-EAS method after the sample digestion in the mixture of concentrated HNO3 and HClO4 acids. The statistical analyses: value intervals, mean values, variation coefficient, the median and the skewed distribution were performed. To estimate differences between the means for transects, Tukey’s test was applied with least significant difference (LSD) determination. The maps of the metal spatial distribution were drawn and sediment quality according to the geochemical and ecotoxicological criteria evaluated. Differences between the reservoirs in terms of heavy metals concentration in bottom sediments, and regularities in their spatial distribution were found. In the ZZ sediments the concentration was at the level of geochemical background (Zn, Cr), slightly (Cd, Cu, Ni) or moderately (Pb) contaminated sediments. The metal concentration in the sediments of the BI was up to eight times higher as compared to the ZZ. Moreover, sediments from the BI reservoir showed a greater variability of metal concentration than those from ZZ, which resulted from the dredging operation performed in the part of the reservoir. Metal concentration in sediments of the dredged part was ca. 2–5 times lower than in the undredged one, which indicates that after the dredging operation, accumulation of these metals was slight. The concentrations of Zn, Pb and Cd from the undredged part of BI were at the level of contaminated sediments and exceeded the probable effects level (PEL). In the ZZ, the greatest accumulation of metals occurred in the upper part of the reservoir and at the frontal dam, and the lowest in the middle part of the reservoir. In BI, the lower outflow of water in this reservoir caused a lower metal concentration in the sediments at the frontal dam, as compared with the other sediments in the undredged part of the reservoir. The results indicate that in small and shallow reservoirs, areas of accumulation of heavy metals depend on such factors as a parent river current, reservoir depth, water waving, reservoir shape (narrowing, coves/bays), and type of water outflow