Ecological Risks Perspectives from Poland and the United States (1990) / Chapter Skim
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Impacts of Air Pollution on Agriculture and Horticulture in Poland
Impacts of Air Pollution on Agriculture and Horticulture in Poland
Pages 196-214
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From page 196... ...
The purpose of this chapter is to confirm the importance of air pollutant effects on agricultural and horticultural crops, in terms of their quantity and quality, relying on research results from the Upper Silesian industrial region as the major source of information. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION The greatest threat to the terrestrial environment is air pollution, which comes primarily from industrial sources.
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From page 197... ...
Table 1 contains data on sulfur dioxide emissions for 12 of the 27 AEHs. Data for the Upper Silesian and Rybnik AEHs were separated, as detailed air pollution measurements are available for these two areas (Karczmarz and Cimander, 1988~.
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From page 198... ...
The national standard for dust fall (250 tons km-2 year) is exceeded in a large part of the Katowice district, with the highest amount deposited - r -- - Van ~~ ~~" ~`r~,~;u~ Hi.
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From page 199... ...
AGRICULTURE AND PLANT PRODUCTION While the Katowice district, like other AEHs, is not a significant source of agricultural production on a national scale (Table 2) , most agricultural and horticultural crops produced on farmland and in alloted garden plots
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From page 200... ...
m~ 3/ FIGURE 3 Concentration of sulfur dioxide in Katowice district with yearly mean values (in big m~3)
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From page 201... ...
Data on the reduction of quality and quantity of agricultural and horticultural plant species can be used to predict effects in other polluted areas of Poland. Information is available on yields of the most important agricultural crops, the use of fertilizers, emissions of air pollutants, and the index of agriculture land quality (Ibble 3~.
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From page 202... ...
However, if yield is considered alone, the actual impact of air pollution will not be understood. Of equal importance is the quality of agricultural and horticultural crops as related to contamination by heavy metals and organic compounds, e.g., polycyclic hydrocarbons.
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From page 203... ...
The permissible concentration (national standard) is 22 fig m~3 (District Office for Public Health and Epidemiology, Katowice)
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From page 204... ...
The concentration of several heavy metals in vegetables and fruits from these areas contributes to the overall intake of these metals by a large portion of the population, and is therefore of great concern for public health reasons (Karweta, 1980; Kucharski et al., 1984; Marchwinska and Kucharski, 1986; Grodzinska et al., 1987; Niklinska and Maryanski, 1988~. THE IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTANTS ON AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL PI^NTS: I VVO CASE STUDIES Investigations into the effects of air pollution on plants in industrial parts of Upper Silesia began many years ago (Szalonek and Warteresiewicz, 1966a)
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From page 205... ...
RESULTS OF THE CASE STUDIES Agriculture Depending on the concentration of sulfur dioxide on the plant species studied in the microplots described above, decreases in yield have been found from less than 10% up to 555 for potatoes, 40% for bean, and 35% for barley (Warteresiewicz, 1979; Figure 7~. Comparison of data on air pollution measurements obtained by Warteresiewicz (1979, 1987)
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From page 206... ...
These data are from areas surrounding a steel mill in Upper Silesia, where there is high background air pollution independent of emissions from the source under study. Independent measurement of concentrations of some air pollutants were also carried out in the same region; the results are shown in Figures 3-6.
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From page 207... ...
. The data for yield loss and pollution level of sulfur dioxide are rather poorly correlated; however, the threshold concentration is lower than has been demonstrated by similar field measurements obtained earlier (Warteresiewicz, 1979~.
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From page 208... ...
Data for higher concentrations are disparate and any numbers given must be interpreted with care. It may be that nitrogen oxides play some role in reduction of yields at concentrations measured near the industrial activity.
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From page 209... ...
However, data are scarce (Karweta, 198~, Marchwinska and Kucharski, 1984; Grodzinska et al., 1987; Niklinska and Maryanski, 1988~. The highest concentration of heavy metals in soils and plants are found surrounding zinc and lead smelters, all of which are located in Upper Silesia.
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From page 210... ...
Reductions in crop yield due to other factors including insufficient application of fertilizers, poor management, and inadequate use of pesticides seem to be higher than those caused by air pollutants. On a regional scale, however, the effects of air pollution are acute in both quantitative and qualitative
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From page 211... ...
Of particular importance for the population is the condition of fruit and vegetables grown in highly polluted areas, both in terms of their aesthetic quality and their possible effect on human health. As stated previously, more accurate determination of crop losses due to air pollution on a countrywide scale is not possible yet.
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From page 212... ...
6 lo' y 4 ~5 o ._ 4— a) 2 C' o Stalowa Wola Krakow Katowice : ' ~ Beet Carrot Parsley FIGURE 14 Concentration of cadmium in vegetables from Stalowa Wola, Krakow, and Katowice (Niklinska and Ma~yanslci, 1988~.
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From page 213... ...
1980. Effects of air pollution on soil and plant contamination by heavy metals in Upper Silesian industrial region.
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From page 214... ...
1979. Effects of air pollution by SO2 and same plant species in Upper Silesian industrial region.
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