Ecological assessment of chromium influence on the soil and plant of Aktobe city

Abstract

The main reason for the deterioration of the ecological state of urbanized areas is the pollution of heavy metals due to their cytotoxic and mutagenic effects on all living organisms, including plants. Heavy metals directly affect plants and, penetrating them, disrupt their metabolism, reducing their productive qualities. In recent decades, the increase in the use of chromium (Cr) in a number of anthropogenic activities, as well as chromium contamination of soil and plants, is becoming increasingly alarming. It was found that chromium is very well absorbed in plants, and also accumulates in various parts of it (stem, root, leaf) and is stored there for a long time. Its environmental consequences inhibit the process of photosynthesis of the plant and negatively affect the growth and development of the plant. Plants are able to actively absorb chromium and retain its toxic properties for a long time, thereby having a long-term negative effect on the body. Signs of chromium toxicity in plants are a decrease in seed germination, a slowdown in growth, a decrease in productivity, inhibition of enzymatic activity, a violation of photosynthesis, an imbalance of nutrients and oxidation, and mutagenesis. In this article, monitoring of the ability of chromium to accumulate in the soil and vegetation of Aktobe city as a center of industrial, transport and social activity of Aktobe region was carried out.  The article presents the results of an assessment of the state of the urban environment and the industrial zone by the degree of accumulation of heavy metals in soils and plants.  Questions about the ability of chromium to accumulate in the leaf, stem, and root systems of plants are discussed.