Environmental assessment of soil contamination along tram tracks in the Dnipro city using biotesting method
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33271/crpnmu/86.365Keywords:
biotesting, tram tracks, technogenic soils, phytotoxicity, phytoremediation, test plantsAbstract
Purpose. To assess the environmental condition of soils along tram tracks in the city of Dnipro using plant biotesting and to identify species suitable for bioindication and phytoremediation of transport-affected urban areas.
The methods. Nine surface soil samples mixed with river sand at a ratio of 1:1 were investigated together with sand and chernozem reference treatments. During a 28-day experiment, seed germination and the lengths of shoots and roots of Lepidium sativum, Brassica napus, Festuca pratensis, and Festuca rubra were evaluated. The pH, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, and oxidation-reduction potential of the filtrate were additionally determined.
Findings. The filtrates had a neutral to slightly alkaline reaction, with pH values of 6.78–8.30, and positive oxidation-reduction potentials of 127–267 mV. An almost perfect correlation was found between electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids (r = 0.9999). The highest ionic loads were recorded in samples No. 8, 4, and 9. The greatest germination rates were observed for F. pratensis (85.3%) and F. rubra (82.1%), followed by L. sativum (61.1%), D. glomerata (51.9%), and B. napus (35.9%). L. sativum showed the most contrasting growth response, with the strongest inhibition recorded in sample No. 4. B. napus developed an extensive root system in selected substrates. Both Festuca species maintained stable growth and high tolerance to the properties of the investigated soils.
The originality. Relationships between the physicochemical characteristics of soil filtrates and the species-specific growth responses of the test plants were established. A functional combination of a sensitive bioindicator, a potential phytoextractor, and tolerant perennial grasses was substantiated for the integrated assessment of soils within urban tram corridors.
Practical implementation. The results allow areas with elevated ionic loads to be identified and plants to be preliminarily selected for the nature-based restoration of transport-affected sites. L. sativum is recommended as an indicator of phytotoxicity, B. napus for further assessment of phytoextraction potential, and F. pratensis and F. rubra as promising species for establishing a stable vegetation cover and phytostabilizing the soil.
References
1. Wiłkomirski, B., Sudnik-Wójcikowska, B., Galera, H., Wierzbicka, M., & Malawska, M. (2011). Railway transportation as a serious source of organic and inorganic pollution. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 218, 333–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0645-0.
2. Malawska, M., & Wiłkomirski, B. (2000). Soil and plant contamination with heavy metals in the area of the old railway junction Tarnowskie Góry and near two main railway routes. Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny, 51(3), 259–267.
3. Brtnický, M., Pecina, V., Juřička, D., Kowal, P., Vašinová Galiová, M., Baltazár, T., & Radziemska, M. (2022). Can rail transport-related contamination affect railway vegetation? A case study of a busy railway corridor in Poland. Chemosphere, 293, 133521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133521.
4. Safadoust, A., Khaleghi, S., & Kolahchi, Z. (2025). Environmental risks of heavy metals in railway soils: Challenges to ecosystem management. Science of the Total Environment, 974, 179217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179217.
5. Wojciechowski, Ł., Gapiński, B., Firlik, B., & Mathia, T. G. (2020). Characteristics of tram wheel wear: Focus on mechanism identification and surface topography. Tribology International, 150, 106365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2020.106365.
6. Papp, E., Angyal, A., Furu, E., Szoboszlai, Z., Török, Z., & Kertész, Z. (2022). Case studies of aerosol pollution in different public transport vehicles in Hungarian cities. Atmosphere, 13(5), 692. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13050692.
7. Hagner, M., Romantschuk, M., Penttinen, O.-P., Egfors, A., Marchand, C., & Augustsson, A. (2018). Assessing toxicity of metal contaminated soil from glassworks sites with a battery of biotests. Science of the Total Environment, 613–614, 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.121.
8. Schulz, V. M., Scherr, C., Baumgartner, S., & Tournier, A. (2025). A versatile Lepidium sativum bioassay for use in ecotoxicological studies. Scientific Reports, 15, 32653. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-17215-7.
9. Abdel-Aty, A. M., Elsayed, A. M., Gad, A. A. M., Barakat, A. Z., & Mohamed, S. A. (2023). Antioxidant system of garden cress sprouts for using in bio-monitor of cadmium and lead contamination. Scientific Reports, 13, 10445. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37430-4.
10. Grispen, V. M. J., Nelissen, H. J. M., & Verkleij, J. A. C. (2006). Phytoextraction with Brassica napus L.: A tool for sustainable management of heavy metal contaminated soils. Environmental Pollution, 144(1), 77–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2006.01.007.
11. Kniuipytė, I., Dikšaitytė, A., Praspaliauskas, M., Pedišius, N., & Žaltauskaitė, J. (2023). Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) potential to remediate Cd contaminated soil under different soil water content. Journal of Environmental Management, 325, 116627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116627.
12. Gray, C. W., Dunham, S. J., Dennis, P. G., Zhao, F. J., & McGrath, S. P. (2006). Field evaluation of in situ remediation of a heavy metal contaminated soil using lime and red-mud. Environmental Pollution, 142(3), 530–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2005.10.017.
13. Gajić, G., Djurdjević, L., Kostić, O., Jarić, S., Mitrović, M., Stevanović, B., & Pavlović, P. (2016). Assessment of the phytoremediation potential and an adaptive response of Festuca rubra L. sown on fly ash deposits: Native grass has a pivotal role in ecorestoration management. Ecological Engineering, 93, 250–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.05.021.
14. Pusz, A., Wiśniewska, M., & Rogalski, D. (2021). Assessment of the accumulation ability of Festuca rubra L. and Alyssum saxatile L. tested on soils contaminated with Zn, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cr, and Cu. Resources, 10(5), 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources10050046.
15. Korzeniowska, J., & Stanislawska-Glubiak, E. (2024). The suitability of several grasses for the remediation of hotspots affected by cadmium contamination. Agriculture, 14(7), 1127. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14071127.
16. Rabêlo, F. H. S., Vangronsveld, J., Baker, A. J. M., van der Ent, A., & Alleoni, L. R. F. (2021). Are grasses really useful for the phytoremediation of potentially toxic trace elements? A review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12, 778275. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.778275.
17. Furu, E., Katona-Szabó, I., Angyal, A., Szoboszlai, Z., Török, Z., & Kertész, Z. (2015). The effect of the tramway track construction on the aerosol pollution in Debrecen, Hungary. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 363, 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2015.08.014.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to deposit the final published version of their article, or the Author's Accepted Manuscript (AAM), in institutional or subject-specific open-access repositories (including the university's own institutional repository, CORE, Zenodo, or Figshare), ensuring maximum visibility, accessibility, and impact of the publication.
