Impact of heavy metal polluted wastewater sediment on element content and enzyme activity of Sudan grass

Growth chamber pot experiment was set up with two varieties of Sudan grass. Plants were grown in uncontaminated (control) topsoil of the former wastewater settling pond from Debrecen, which was amended with 10% (m/m) of wastewater sediment (P: 5125; Fe: 22756, Pb: 287; Cr: 1027; Zn: 888 mg/kg). The elemental composition of soil and shoots of plants and activities of some enzymes in leaves were measured. It can be concluded that the roots and shoots of plant individuals of both varieties consistently took up higher concentrations of each of the elements from the medium "enriched" with wastewater sediment. The elevated element concentrations were found in some cases in the roots, and in other cases in the leaves (K: ~2000 (soil) - ~13000 (root) - ~30000 (shoot) mg/kg; Cr: ~330 (soil) - ~3,30 (root) - ~0,189 (shoot) mg/kg). The excessive accumulation of toxic elements was not observed. The activities of four enzymes were measured in the leaves of plants (glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, G6PDH; isocitrate-dehydrogenase, ICDH; peroxidase, POX; catalase, CAT). The enzyme activities of POX increased meanwhile that of CAT decreased significantly, in spite of slight differences. As a trend, the specific activity for G6PDH increased by 26% (GK Csaba) and 36% (Akklimat), while values for ICDH became higher by 28% (GK Csaba) and 41.5% (Akklimat), for the two varieties studied, respectively. The latter results were not statistically supported

Effects of high nutrient and heavy metal containing soils on some chemical and biochemical features of Sudan grass

In this research we studied the effects of different soil amendments on the elemental composition and the activities of some enzymes of a Sudan grass variety (GK Csaba). In the pot experiment we used a soil with low heavy metal content as a plant grow media, as a control (C) we used the same soils „enriched” with a 20% wastewater sediment (WS) (originated from a former wastewater settling plant), a 10% compost (made of sewage sludge and green waste, SG), or their mix (C + 10% SG + 20% WS). The compost contained much more essential plant nutrients, while the wastewater-sediment was rich in toxic heavy metals compared to control soil. In this study, we determined the elemental composition of soil and organs of the plants (roots, leaves) and activities of some enzymes in leaves. Higher concentrations of all essential plant nutrient were detected in both roots and leaves of the treated plants. The concentration of copper and zinc were significantly higher (2 and 3 times higher, respectively) in plants grown in WS containing media (C+20% WS and C+10% SG + 20% WS). The concentrations of toxic heavy metals were higher in roots compared to leaves. As an exception, the cadmium concentration was nearly equal in the roots and the leaves, showing that this element's accumulation is not limited to the roots, but was also transported into the leaves. The activities of the examined enzymes (glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase, G6PDH; isocitrate-dehydrogenase, ICDH; peroxidase, POX) did not show significant changes in presence of WS and SG

The effect of heavy metal-containing wastewater sediment on the microanatomical characteristics of the leaves and stem of Salix viminalis L.

A comparative microanatomical study of Salix viminalis L. shoots was performed in order to get an idea of the effect of toxic elements stress on the microanatomical parameters of the shoot (leaves, stem). The examined Salix viminalis L. shoots originated from the Lovász-zug suburban area of Debrecen city, where a sewage settling pond was formerly operated as a secondary biological purification unit. The control Salix triandra x viminalis L. 'Inger' samples originated from the Nyíregyháza experiment with uncontaminated soil. As a result of our research, we can state the following in the case of the leaf samples grown on contaminated soil: the leaf lamina thickness decreased; the extent of the palisade parenchyma decreased; the extent of the intercellular spaced increased inside the spongy parenchyma; the width and the height of the main veins increased; the extent of the collenchyma bordering the main vein increased; the stomatal density increased both in the case of the adaxial and abaxial epidermis; the size of the stomas decreased. In the case of the stem samples, we observed the following: in the case of the samples grown on contaminated soil the extent of the primer cortex increased; the cell wall of the cells building the sclerenchimatic fibers thickened; the number of Ca-oxalate crystal rosettes and sclereids increased; the extent of secondary phloem increased; the lumen of the tracheas in the secondary xylem increased; the average width of the annual rings decreased; the extent of the central stele of the stem increased

The effect of toxic elements on the microanatomy of the leaves of the Salix alba L.

The effects of a heavy metal containing wastewater sediment on two cultivars of white willow were investigated in a pot experiment. Our aim was to examine the effect of toxic elements on the microanatomical parameters of the leaves of the tested plant. We examined the following parameters: stomatic density, stoma width and length, lamina thickness, adaxial and abaxial epidermis thickness, mesophyll thickness, palisad and spongy parenchyma thickness, main vein width and length. The experiment had the following results: with the presence of toxic elements, the thickness of the lamina increased, within this, there was a significant growth in the thickness of the spongy parenchyma.  The width and the length of the main vein decreased, so did the extent of the xylem cavities. The extent of the collenchymal stock of the leaf venation increased. The number of stomas increased, but the size of the stomas decreased. As a result of toxic element contamination, the number of Ca-oxalate crystals increased within the leaf mesophyll

A tönkölybúza (Triticum spelta L.) elemfelvétele szennyvízüledékből

Uptake of various mineral nutrients and accumulation of toxic elements was studied in spelt (Triticum spelta L. lines „A” and „B”) from a soil moderately contaminated with toxic elements (prevalently with chromium; 111-128 mg/kg), and from a sewage sediment contaminated with cadmium (1.27 mg/kg), chromium (1027 mg/kg), copper (189 mg/kg), nickel (49.5 mg/kg), lead (287 mg/kg), and zinc (888 mg/kg). Contaminated cover soil and sewage sediment originated from Debrecen Lovász-zug, Hungary (47029’000’’ N, 21035’738’’ E), from a former wastewater postsettling pond. Spelt was grown in a pot experiment for 52 days in a growth chamber, in cover soil (as a control) and in cover soil treated with 10% (m/m) sewage sediment. It was found that application of sewage sediment significantly enhanced the uptake of macro- and mezoelements (P, K, Ca, Mg, Na), and essential microelements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) both in roots and shoots of spelt. Toxic elements (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) accumulated prevalently in the roots of plants, and the applied sewage sediment significantly increased their concentration in roots and shoots, as compared to the control cultures. Breeders supposed line „A” of spelt to be more sensitive for abiotic stresses (e.g. toxic element contamination) than line “B”. This hypothesis, however, was not confirmed by our observations.Fényszobás tenyészedényes kísérletet állítottunk be a Nyíregyházi Egyetemen a Debrecen Lovász-zugból származó, toxikus elemekkel (elsősorban krómmal) szennyezett talajjal (mely egy szennyvíz utóülepítő tó rekultivációja során felhasznált talajtakaró volt), illetve kadmiumot, krómot, rezet, nikkelt, ólmot és cinket a határértékek felett tartalmazó Debrecen lovász-zugi szennyvízüledékkel. Kísérletünk célja az volt, hogy a környezeti stressz-faktorok iránt toleránsnak feltételezett lágy szárú növényfaj, a tönkölybúza (Triticum spelta L.) tenyészedényekben történő termesztésével, modell-kísérlettel megismerjük és összehasonlítsuk e növényfaj két vonalának (cv. GK Fehér "A"; cv. GK Fehér "B") táp- és toxikuselem-felvételi interakcióit a talajjal, illetve a szennyvízüledékkel (10% m/m) kevert talajjal. 52 napos növénynevelést követően megállapítottuk, hogy a szennyvízüledék a kontrollhoz viszonyítva jelentősen megemelte mind a gyökerekben, mind a hajtásokban a foszfor-, kálium-, kalcium-, magnézium-, és nátriumkoncentrációkat mindkét tönkölybúza vonal esetén. A vizsgált makroelemek − a kalcium és a nátrium kivételével − a tönkölybúza hajtásában nagyobb mennyiségben voltak kimutathatóak, mint a gyökérében. A szennyvízüledék mindkét tönkölybúza vonal gyökereiben és hajtásaiban egyaránt megemelte az esszenciális mikroelemek (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) koncentrációit a kontrollhoz viszonyítva. A tönkölybúza toxikuselem-felvételét (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) elemezve megállapítható, hogy a gyökerekben lényegesen több halmozódott fel a hajtásokhoz képest, és a kijuttatott szennyvízüledék valamennyi toxikus elem koncentrációját jelentősen megnövelte a kontroll kultúrákhoz viszonyítva, mind a gyökerekben, mind a hajtásokban. Nem tudtuk azonban igazolni, hogy a nemesítők által szenzitívebbnek feltételezett GK Fehér tönkölybúza fajta „A” vonala érzékenyebben reagál a toxikuselem-szennyezés okozta stresszre, illetve több toxikus elemet vesz fel, mint a toleránsabbnak tekintett „B” vonal