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Impact of the past mining activity in Roşia Montană (Romania) on soil and vegetation

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Abstract

The paper presents the results of a combined soil and vegetation survey in Roşia Montană mining area (western Romania), famous for its gold and silver deposits, extensively exploited over the last 2,000 years. As the ore extraction has ceased in 2006 and new operations could be initiated in the future, the study contributes to the definition of the environmental baseline. Samples of topsoil and leaves of the tree species Betula pendula and Carpinus betulus have been collected from the inside and outside of the mining area, on a total surface of more than 60 km2. The pH and heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) have been measured on 262 soils/sediments samples, revealing the predominantly acidic character of soils and the generally low contents of heavy metals. Stronger acidity and higher contents of heavy metals have been noticed in the proximity of the mining site, on the tailings and waste rock dumps, and along the streams with acid water. More than 100 leaf samples have been analysed for the same heavy metals as soils and also for chlorophyll fluorescence and pigment concentrations. B. pendula has shown a particular ability to concentrate Zn in leaves, at levels that may greatly exceed the Zn content in the corresponding soil samples. The correlation between the heavy metal contents in leaves and in soils, in most of the cases, is not very strong, presumably in relation to the low concentrations in soils. The chlorophyll concentration in leaves of B. pendula slightly diminishes on soils with low pH.

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Notes

  1. Project 244166, Impact monitoring of mineral resources exploitation (Impactmin), co-funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program, http://www.impactmin.eu.

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Acknowledgments

This work has benefitted of the financial support provided by POSDRU CUANTUMDOC “Doctoral studies for European performances in research and innovation” ID79407 project funded by the European Social Fund and Romanian Government. The core funding was provided by the FP7-ENV-2009-1 project 244166—ImpactMin. The authors are grateful to Dr. Marc Goossens (Geosense—Netherlands) and Dr. Stephanie Delalieux (VITO—Belgium) for their contributions to the field campaigns and data interpretation. The suggestions provided by two anonymous reviewers, and the journal’s editor have greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, Str. Fantanele 30, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Adina-Laura Lazăr, Călin Baciu, Carmen Roba, Tiberius Dicu & Cristian Pop

  2. Faculty of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Bd. Muncii 103-105, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Călin Rogozan

  3. Institute of Technology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Str. M. Kogălniceanu 1, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Cristina Dobrotă

Authors
  1. Adina-Laura Lazăr
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  2. Călin Baciu
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  3. Carmen Roba
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  4. Tiberius Dicu
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  5. Cristian Pop
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  6. Călin Rogozan
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  7. Cristina Dobrotă
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Correspondence to Călin Baciu.

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Lazăr, AL., Baciu, C., Roba, C. et al. Impact of the past mining activity in Roşia Montană (Romania) on soil and vegetation. Environ Earth Sci 72, 4653–4666 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3361-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3361-z

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