Testing of phytotoxicity of mining waste to determine the direction of future development

Jan Zloch; Dana Adamcová; Ondřej Šindelář; Markéta Šourková; Magdalena Daria Vaverková; Jan Zloch; Dana Adamcová; Ondřej Šindelář; Markéta Šourková; Magdalena Daria Vaverková

doi:10.3934/environsci.2020021

AIMS Environmental Science

2020, Volume 7, Issue 4: 324-334. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2020021

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Research article

Testing of phytotoxicity of mining waste to determine the direction of future development

1.
Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Agri Sciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
2.
Institute of Civil Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02 776 Warsaw, Poland

Received: 06 May 2020 Accepted: 17 August 2020 Published: 19 August 2020

Energy industry and coal mining produce large amounts of mining waste. The material is accumulated on dumps and heaps which alter the landscape appearance. As the material is waste from mining, there are concerns from possible environmental contamination. On the other hand, some scientific publications mention favorable properties of this material and claim that it can be possibly used for example in land reclamation. This research is focused on the testing of phytotoxicity of samples collected from mining waste heaps. The pH values of tested samples ranged from 7.00 to 8.67. In the phytotoxicity tests, vital seeds of plants Sinapis alba. L., Hordeum vulgare L., and Cannabis sativa L. were used. The tests did not exhibit high phytotoxicity. Contrariwise, many results showed a high rate of growth stimulation (nearly 80%). Average values (median) of growth inhibition observed in individual samples for all three plant species in the share of 100% (with no addition of OECD soil) ranged from −13.96% to −33.73%. The obtained results can confirm the positive properties of mining waste in terms of phytotoxicity, resp. the experiments did not confirm the phytotoxic effects on the tested plants. Mining waste/material could have a positive effect on plants and thanks to its properties it could be used e.g., in land reclamation.
- coal mining; growth inhibition; Sinapis alba L.; Hordeum vulgare L.; Cannabis sativa L
Citation: Jan Zloch, Dana Adamcová, Ondřej Šindelář, Markéta Šourková, Magdalena Daria Vaverková. Testing of phytotoxicity of mining waste to determine the direction of future development[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2020, 7(4): 324-334. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2020021

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Abstract

Energy industry and coal mining produce large amounts of mining waste. The material is accumulated on dumps and heaps which alter the landscape appearance. As the material is waste from mining, there are concerns from possible environmental contamination. On the other hand, some scientific publications mention favorable properties of this material and claim that it can be possibly used for example in land reclamation. This research is focused on the testing of phytotoxicity of samples collected from mining waste heaps. The pH values of tested samples ranged from 7.00 to 8.67. In the phytotoxicity tests, vital seeds of plants Sinapis alba. L., Hordeum vulgare L., and Cannabis sativa L. were used. The tests did not exhibit high phytotoxicity. Contrariwise, many results showed a high rate of growth stimulation (nearly 80%). Average values (median) of growth inhibition observed in individual samples for all three plant species in the share of 100% (with no addition of OECD soil) ranged from −13.96% to −33.73%. The obtained results can confirm the positive properties of mining waste in terms of phytotoxicity, resp. the experiments did not confirm the phytotoxic effects on the tested plants. Mining waste/material could have a positive effect on plants and thanks to its properties it could be used e.g., in land reclamation.

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