ASSESSMENT OF LEAD ACCUMULATION IN COMMON DANDELION GROWING IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Currently, urban pollution is becoming an urgent problem, as it is intensively saturated with gas and dust-like waste from vehicles and industry. This leads to a deterioration in the living conditions of humans and other organisms. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the range of biodiversity used for environmental monitoring, depending on the variety of pollutants and types of technogenic impact.

The article is based on an assessment and comparison of the degree of lead pollution in the natural environment of two cities based on data on the distribution of lead in the atmosphere, lead concentration in soil layers, the number of microorganisms in the soil, as well as vegetative organs of dandelion.

For the study, soil samples were collected from areas in Almaty with heavy traffic and from garden plots in Talgar, as well as samples of a common garden plant: roots, stems, and leaves. The accumulation of lead in them was examined. In addition, the concentration of lead in the atmosphere, present in vehicle exhaust gases, was calculated.

In urbanized environments, lead from vehicles and other sources accumulates in the soil and plants. One of these plants is the common dandelion.

The results of the study show that common dandelion, growing in an environment with a high transport load, as well as statistical and spatial analyzes, can be recommended as an indicator for biomonitoring the urban environment.