Flora of toxic depots in selected industrial zones

Abstract

Floristic composition in three industrial areas with soils contaminated by heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn) and organic pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls) was studied. The content of Pb was only significantly'correlated with the floristic composition and explained 13.8% of its variability considering spatial dependency of the sites. No correlation was found for PCBs. Altogether, 237 plant vascular species were found at three study sites (117, 133 and 105, respectively). The three study areas differed in their species composition represented by their own characteristic species. The gradient in the content of natives/non-natives, species number, prevailing life forms and indicator values for plant species investigated was revealed. Based on our results, for phytoremediation purposes we can select productive plant species with high biomass and ability to accumulate large amounts of heavy metals or organic compounds and surviving on soils with low mineral content.