Assessment of copper toxicity to sunflower under monometallic soil contamination conditions

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Abstract

Ecotoxicological studies on metal toxicity are commonly conducted using artificially contaminated soils, whereas investigations of naturally or industrially contaminated soils remain limited. Industrially contaminated soils often contain elevated concentrations of multiple elements, complicating the interpretation of toxic effects. This underscores the exceptional value of sites with monometallic pollution. One such site is the Kargaly copper mining district in the Orenburg Region of the Russian Federation. This study assessed copper phytotoxicity to sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) grown under field conditions in soils historically contaminated by copper mining during the 18th–19th centuries. Total copper content in the studied soils reached upto 10,000 mg/kg, while the content of other elements remained close to the background levels, confirming the monometallic nature of the pollution. The effective concentrations of copper causing 25% and 50% reductions (EC 25 and EC 50 ) in sunflower shoot growth were 9.8 and 12 mg/kg, respectively. Corresponding EC 25 and EC 50 values for total soil copper were 706 and 929 mg/kg, respectively.

About the authors

F. Tapia-Pizarro

Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Ecosystems, Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Moscow 117198, Russia

E. A. Dovletyarova

Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Ecosystems, Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Moscow 117198, Russia

D. G. Polyakov

Institute of Steppe, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Orenburg 460000, Russia

S. V. Bogdanov

Institute of Steppe, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Orenburg 460000, Russia

N. A. Terekhova

Department of Biology and Soil Science, Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, Orenburg State University

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Orenburg 460018, Russia

T. V. Fedorov

Mining Institute, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Perm 614007, Russia

M. M. Karpukhin

Faculty of Geology, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Moscow 119991, Russia

Y. A. Krutyakov

National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute"; Laboratory of Functional Materials for Agriculture, Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Moscow 123182, Russia; Moscow 119991, Russia

C. Yanez

Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Valparaíso 2340000, Chile

A. Neaman

Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Tarapacá

Email: nrcki@nrcki.ru
Arica 1000000, Chile

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