DIVERSITY OF FUNGI IN THE ALLIUM URSINUM L COVERED SOIL FOREST

In the soil,ecosystem there are differences in the diversity and spatial distribution of the fungal community. Forest soil samples were harvested in the spring season from the area of influence of plants of Allium ursinum L., in the western part of the country.The study of fungal diversity was carried out on the "soil grain method" on the sifted and ungrounded soil samples. The composition of fungal species is diverse, but there are also repetions (rehearsals) where the number of species is limited. The species present in both forest soil samples is Circinellaspp, followed by Penicillium spp and Aspergillus spp, the latter being isolated only from the sifted soil sample.The low-frequency species are: Torulaherbarum (species isolated from both soil samples), Chaetomium spirale (highlighted only in sampled (sifted) soil), Fusarium spp, Helminthosporiumspp and Mortierellamonospora, the last species isolated from the unsifted soil sample.Â

RESEARCHES ON SOIL CONTAMINATION WITH HEAVY METALS AND THEIR REMANENCE IN VEGETABLES

 The paper presents the results of experimental researches on soil contamination with heavy metals (copper, lead, zinc) in different concentration each (c1=1.5 %; c2=3.0 %; c3=4.5 %; c4=6.0 %). The contaminated soil was placed in pots, where spinach and radish seeds were planted. The vegetables were grown in a greenhouse until the end of the vegetation period, afterwards being harvested and the remanence of each heavy metal for each concentration was determined for each plant. The results obtained were compared with the blank sample where the soil was not contaminated.        The purpose of the study was to identify the levels of heavy metals (Cu, Zn and Pb) transfer/absorption from the soil into spinach leaves respectively radish roots

Bioaccumulative and conchological assessment of heavy metal transfer in a soil-plant-snail food chain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) can pose serious threats to environmental health because they tend to bioaccumulate in terrestrial ecosystems. We investigated under field conditions the transfer of these heavy metals in a soil-plant-snail food chain in Banat area, Romania. The main goal of this paper was to assess the Roman snail (<it>Helix pomatia</it>) usefulness in environmental monitoring as bioindicator of heavy metal accumulation. Eight sampling sites, selected by different history of heavy metal (HM) exposure, were chosen to be sampled for soil, nettle leaves, and newly matured snails. This study also aimed to identify the putative effects of HM accumulation in the environment on phenotypic variability in selected shell features, which included shell height (SH), relative shell height (RSH), and whorl number (WN).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significantly higher amounts of HMs were accumulated in snail hepatopancreas and not in foot. Cu, Zn, and Cd have biomagnified in the snail body, particularly in the hepatopancreas. In contrast, Pb decreased when going up into the food chain. Zn, Cd, and Pb correlated highly with each other at all levels of the investigated food chain. Zn and Pb exhibited an effective soil–plant transfer, whereas in the snail body only foot Cu concentration was correlated with that in soil. There were significant differences among sampling sites for WN, SH, and RSH when compared with reference snails. WN was strongly correlated with Cd and Pb concentrations in nettle leaves but not with Cu and Zn. SH was independent of HM concentrations in soil, snail hepatopancreas, and foot. However, SH correlated negatively with nettle leaves concentrations for each HM except Cu. In contrast, RSH correlated significantly only with Pb concentration in hepatopancreas.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The snail hepatopancreas accumulates high amounts of HMs, and therefore, this organ can function as a reliable biomarker for tracking HM bioavailability in soil. Long-term exposure to HMs via contaminated food might influence the variability of shell traits in snail populations. Therefore, our results highlight the Roman snail (<it>Helix pomatia</it>) potential to be used in environmental monitoring studies as bioindicator of HM pollution.</p