HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATION IN SOILS WHILE GROWING ENERGY CROPS IN THE RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED TERRITORY

Soil is a unique indispensable natural resource which is the solar energy storage, the basis of life for plants, animals and humans, as well as a natural indicator of environmental pollution. Contamination of soil with heavy metals is of global interest in modern science in connection with the increase of man-made impact on the environment. The danger of heavy metals is determined by the fact that, unlike organic pollutants, they are not destroyed, but transfer from one form to another, in particular, they are included in the salts, oxides, organometallic compounds. The purpose of our study was to determine the content of mobile heavy metal compounds in soil while growing energy crops on the radioactively contaminated territory. The findings of the study showed that the content of toxicants in soil under conditions of radioactive contamination was considerably below the MAC. Lead concentration in the studied sites of energy crops varied within 0.72–0.87 mg/kg. The greatest difference between the variants was found while cultivating cup plant and oriental bunias (10.9 and 11.8 %), and the smallest was observed while growing miscanthus and sorghum perennial (7.5 and 9.7 %, respectively). It was found out that the highest concentration of cadmium was observed in the soil when using mineral fertilizers (N50P50K50); the content was at the level of 0.040–0.044 mg/kg. Chemical elements such as copper and zinc were in minimal quantities. The levels of copper availability varied from 0.078 to 0.091 mg/kg, and zinc from 1.83 to 2.45 mg/kg. It should be noted that the lowest concentration of heavy metals was observed while cultivating all energy crops without the use of fertilizers. Prospects for further study will be aimed at establishing patterns of distribution of heavy metals in soil layers while cultivating energy crops.