Railway Infrastructure as a Substitute Habitat for Valuable Medicinal Plant Species Using the Example of Bearberry <i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi</i>
Barbara Bacler-Żbikowska,
Agnieszka Hutniczak,
Wojciech Bierza,
Jawdat Bakr,
Agnieszka Błońska,
Anna Piekarska-Stachowiak,
Paweł Olszewski,
Anna Pieprzyca,
Piotr Kucharski,
Adam Stebel,
Gabriela Woźniak
Affiliations
Barbara Bacler-Żbikowska
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 30 Ostrogórska Str., 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
Agnieszka Hutniczak
Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Wojciech Bierza
Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Jawdat Bakr
Technical Institute of Bakrajo, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Wrme Street-327/76, Qrga, Sulaymaniyah 46001, Iraq
Agnieszka Błońska
Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Anna Piekarska-Stachowiak
Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Paweł Olszewski
Department of Environmental Monitoring, National Research Institute, Gwarków 1 Square, 40-166 Katowice, Poland
Anna Pieprzyca
Department of Environmental Monitoring, National Research Institute, Gwarków 1 Square, 40-166 Katowice, Poland
Piotr Kucharski
Independent Researcher, 41-400 Mysłowice, Poland
Adam Stebel
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 30 Ostrogórska Str., 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
Gabriela Woźniak
Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
The secondary, substitute habitats are becoming more important for the survival of many valuable plant species, including medicinal plants—for example, bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. The aim of the conducted research is to compare the ability of A. uva-ursi to accumulate heavy metals in leaves from railways (anthropogenic substitute habitat) and the natural habitats (pine forests). We measured the concentration of five heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in plant material and in the soil. The bioaccumulation factor was also calculated. Moreover, we measured biotic factors including A. uva-ursi height and abundance, along with the plant diversity indices, in the investigated plots. The presented results reveal that (1) none of the parameters concerning the content of the selected heavy metals described in the currently applicable legal acts were exceeded, (2) A. uva-ursi does not show the potential for heavy metal accumulation, except for zinc and partially mercury, (3) its individuals in the natural habitats are lower, (4) the abundance (percentage cover) of A. uva-ursi is the lowest in the natural habitat, and (5) the value of the Shannon–Wiener diversity index is the highest in the vegetation patches with A. uva-ursi developed in natural habitats.
