The content of the potentially toxic elements, iron and manganese, in the grapevine cv Tamjanika growing near the biggest copper mining/metallurgical complex on the Balkan peninsula: phytoremediation, biomonitoring, and some toxicological aspects.

Plants growing in areas polluted by heavy metals represent excellent models for the investigations related to their potentials for hazardous metals accumulation which further may help in the estimation of plant practical biomonitoring and phytoremediation potentials. In this study, the potentials of the grapevine cultivar Tamjanika from a highly polluted region in Eastern Serbia, with intensive copper mining and metallurgical activities, were estimated in regard to the potentially toxic elements such as iron and manganese; the potential danger from these metals through fruit consummation is also considered. Used methods were the following: ICP-OES analysis, calculation of biological coefficients, the Pearson correlation study, one-way ANOVA, and hierarchical cluster analysis. The results revealed that a great majority of the recorded concentrations in different plant organs were in the range of normal concentrations, as well as that the calculated accumulation rates for both metals were very low. The data also pointed to generally minimal to moderate enrichment by these metals which represents totally dissimilar situation in comparison with other heavy metals detected in the very same plant samples. The results of this study suggested that the investigated plants of the grapevine cv Tamjanika assimilated iron and manganese predominately according to their individual needs, and confirmed that the utilization of this plant species can be very effective in different biomonitoring procedures and also in the phytoremediation procedure known as phytostabilization. At the same time, it was obvious that even in aggressive circumstances its fruit was protected from some serious contamination and kept pretty safe for consummation.

Assessment of the quality of polluted areas based on the content of heavy metals in different organs of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cv Tamjanika.

In this study, the samples of the spatial soil and organs of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivar Tamjanika were collected from the selected zones near the Mining and Smelting Complex Bor (East Serbia). They were analyzed by ICP-OES to determine the content of Cu, Zn, Pb, As, Cd, and Ni with the aim of ascertaining if these data may help in the assessment and improvement of the quality of environment in polluted areas such as Bor and its surrounding area. The results obtained from the calculated biological and enrichment factors, as well as from the Pearson correlation study and hierarchical cluster analysis confirmed that very useful information is recorded in plant organs: root, stem, leaves, and fruit. Yet, when the atmospheric pollution is the sphere of interest, the most informative data are found in unwashed leaves. The results of this study indicated also that the investigated plant species has some highly effective strategies involved in tolerance to the stress induced by heavy metals, which makes it an excellent candidate for phytostabilization purposes. Planting of this grapevine cultivar can be recommended in all areas that are severely polluted with heavy metals.