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Spatial variability of nutrients in soils and plants of forest ecosystems located near the highway

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Abstract

The variability of selected biogenic elements in soils and leaves of three dominant plant species was studied in segments of Querci-Fageta typica and Fagi-Querceta typica forest ecosystems located near R1 Pribina highway in SW Slovakia. The amounts of nutrients (Mg, K, Na and Zn) in soils distant 30 m from the highway were mostly low and increased significantly with a depth of soil. On the other hand, the highest Ca concentrations were found in the surface humus horizons and decreased significantly with soil depth. The Mg, K and Zn contents found in soil mineral horizons 8000 m from the highway were more balanced than those found at 30 m from the highway. The nutrient content of plant leaves was mostly significantly higher at a distance of 30 m from the highway than 8000 m from the highway, for Ca (Prunus spinosa, Melica uniflora), Mg (P. spinosa), Na (Quercus cerris, P. spinosa) and Zn (Q. cerris, M. uniflora). The tightness of the relationships between nutrient contents in leaves and the distance from the highway was the highest for Ca (P. spinosa, M. uniflora), Mg, Na, Zn (Q. cerris, P. spinosa) and K (M. uniflora). The K/(Mg + Ca) ratios in Q. cerris and P. spinosa leaves distant 8000 m from the highway were more balanced than those found at 30 m from the highway. This markedly points to favourable biological activity and better stability of the more distant control ecosystem with lower level of pollutants.

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Funding

This work was supported by Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences (grant no. 2/0005/17, 2/0120/17).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Forest Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Ľ. Štúra 2, 960 53, Zvolen, Slovak Republic

    Margita Kuklová, Ján Kukla & Ivica Pivková

  2. Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcka 129, 165 00, Prague, Czech Republic

    Helena Hniličková & František Hnilička

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  1. Margita Kuklová
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Correspondence to Margita Kuklová.

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Kuklová, M., Kukla, J., Hniličková, H. et al. Spatial variability of nutrients in soils and plants of forest ecosystems located near the highway. Environ Monit Assess 192, 534 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08481-1

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