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The aim of this study was to determine the tolerance to metals (Zn, Cu) and drought of male and female Salix × fragilis L. under isolated and combined treatments, and to assess the metal uptake and profiling of metabolic plant responses. The 14-day experiment was performed in a hydroponic system, and metals were applied at 1.5 mM in a Knop's solution. Drought simulation was achieved by adding sorbitol at a moderate level (200 mM). Isolated Zn treatment enhanced plant growth, more pronouncedly in females. Equimolar Cu treatment caused diverse reactions, and females exhibited significantly higher tolerance. Male specimens were less tolerant to isolated drought and to combined drought and metal presence. The highest contents of Cu and Zn were found in roots, compared to the aboveground tissues (wooden rods and leaves), of both female and male metal-treated plants. Simultaneously applied drought limited Zn accumulation in roots and elevated its translocation to leaves while increasing Cu accumulation, predominantly in females showing higher tolerance. Both isolated and combined drought and metals reduced leaf water content, caused the allocation of mineral nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, and Na), and affected metabolism in a stressor-specific and sex-dependent manner. For males, Cu accumulation in the leaves was significantly correlated with the majority of metabolites, while for both sexes, kaempferol and salicylic acid were strongly correlated, indicating their role in tolerance against the metal. The obtained results are an excellent starting point for the practical use of male and female Salix × fragilis L. in areas heavily polluted with Cu or Zn and exposed to drought, for the purpose of their recultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The more yerba mate infusions that are consumed, the larger the amount of grounds generated. What is more, both the infusion and the residues after brewing remain rich elements. Therefore, a strategy for the three-stage assessment of the element content was presented. A new brewing method was based on dynamic extraction, ensuring both the ease of preparing the infusion and recovering the grounds. In turn, microwave-assisted acid mineralization was used to decompose the leaves and twigs of yerba mate before and after brewing. In total, 30 products were analyzed by ICP OES in three fractions each, i.e., dry yerba mate, infusion, and grounds, to determine up to 25 elements. The elemental composition was considered in terms of the country of origin, type, or composition of yerba mate. The extraction percentages obtained with dynamic extraction were comparable to previously used ultrasound-assisted extraction, as well as data from the literature. The three-stage strategy is a novel approach in yerba mate studies, and it may be a model procedure for the laboratory preparation of yerba mate grounds (waste that can be re-used, e.g., a natural fertilizer). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trapa natans (water chestnut) is an aquatic, thermophilic plant whose decline has been observed in many localities in central Europe during the last decades. In this paper, we present a description of two new T. natans subfossil sites located outside its present northern distribution in Poland. High-resolution analysis of plant macrofossils supported by geochemical analysis were undertaken to reconstruct the palaeoecological habitat and examine the cause of the late Holocene decline of T. natans that took place ca. 4000 calibrated years before AD 1950 (cal. yr BP) in a paleolake, presently the Bagno Kusowo bog. Its disappearance was a consequence of terrestrialisation and the development of peatland. In paleolake sediments covered by the peat layer in the Mechacz Wielki bog, T. natans macrofossils were found from before ca. 3300 cal. yr BP. The decline of T. natans could have resulted from the changes and development of other plant communities where the dominant role was played by Stratiotes aloides and Nymphaea sp. In our study sites, T. natans occurred together with Potamogeton crispus, Potamogeton obtusifolius, Nymphaea alba, and Nuphar sp. in eutrophic water dominated by Ca2+, Fe3+, and Al3+ ions. Our palaeobotanical and geochemical results align with the contemporary conditions of T. natans habitat.

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of urban agglomeration on a small, natural water reservoir which, as a result of the expansion of the city of Poznań, has become an urban lake. In the vegetation period 2015, the chemistry of its water was studied, and in September additional samples of bottom sediments, plants and fish were collected for analysis in order to determine the content of heavy metals. In terms of productivity, no significant influence of the catchment was recorded. In the 1980s the lake was defined as eutrophic, and in 1996 as α-mesotrophic and such a state continues until today. This is the result of protective activity undertaken by its new owner. The adverse influence of the urbanization of the surrounding areas was reflected by the increased content of lead in particular elements of this ecosystem, that is, in bottom sediments, plants and fish muscles.

The article presents the results of preliminary geochemical and mineralogical studies of technogenic soils (Technosols) of abandoned iron ore mines on the Ławęczna Hill near Miedziana Góra in the Holy Cross (Świętokrzyskie) Mountains, southcentral Poland. The results of chemical analyses (XRF) were used to calculate the soil enrichment factors of arsenic, copper, iron, lead and zinc, and compare the element concentrations to their levels in uncontaminated soils across Poland and in the city of Kielce. The highest values of soil enrichment factors of metals (As 27.699, Ni 26.455, Cu 9.353, Zn 3.344, Pb 0.62) were recorded for the sand fraction composed of iron oxyhydroxides and hematite, whereas the lowest (Ni 0.22, Cu 0.069, Zn 0.007, Pb 0.028) for the clay–silt and sand fractions, which were primarily composed of calcite and quartz as well as for gravel fraction. The clay-silt fraction shows the highest enrichment in arsenic (27.69). The examined metals and arsenic show positive geochemical anomalies.