Content of Zinc and Copper in Selected Plants Growing Along a Motorway

Abstract

In 2011 a study was carried out analyzing the effects of road traffic on bioaccumulation of zinc and copper in selected species of dicotyledonous plants growing on adjacent grasslands. To do the research the plants were sampled from the 9-km-long Siedlce bypass, a part of the international route E-30. They were collected during the flowering stage, at following distances from the road: 1, 5, 10, 15 m. The content of zinc and copper was determined with the AAS method, with dry mineralisation done before. The highest concentration of the elements, regardless of the distance from the road, was found in Taraxacum spec. Among the tested plants, the lowest zinc content was in Vicia cracca, and the lowest copper content in Rumex acetosa. The limit for copper content was exceeded in Taraxacum spec. and, slightly, in Achillea millefolium growing at the roadside, closest to the roadway.