Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. XIV
Written by Bogdan Ștefan OPREA, Dumitru-Marian MOTELICĂ, Nicoleta Olimpia VRÎNCEANU, Vera CARABULEA, Georgiana Iuliana PLOPEANU, Mihaela COSTEA
Studies on the influence of heavy metals are essential because they have a negative impact on human and animal health, the environment, and ecosystems. This work aims to assess the heavy metals content in soil and plant (Festuca rubra L.) samples collected from permanent grasslands in a heavily polluted area during 2023–2024. The total content and DTPA extractable forms of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) in soil and plant were analyzed. The mean value of total Cd content in soil was 5.50 mg/kg dry weight (DW), while the mean values for Pb, Zn and Cu were 201.1 mg/kg DW, 368.7 mg/kg DW and 46.9 mg/kg DW, respectively. In the plant the mean Cd content had the lowest value (0.47 mg/kg DW), the second lowest mean value was recorded for Pb, while the Zn content was the highest (47.6 mg/kg DW). The values of the correlation coefficients showed that heavy metals uptake by Festuca rubra varies according to the type of metal and its form in the soil. The results of this research showed that soils in the Copșa Mică area continue to have a high content of heavy metals, which may have a negative impact on the quality of human and animal life through their accumulation in the food chain.
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