Heavy metal concentrations in roadside plants (Achillea wilhelmsii and Cardaria draba) and soils along some highways in Hamedan, west of Iran

The present study was conducted to analyze the effects of traffic volumes on Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn contents in roadside soils and in two dominant herbaceous species (Achillea wilhelmsii and Cardaria draba) along highways and to evaluate the dynamic characteristics of these elements and their accumulation by the aerial parts and roots of these herbaceous species. The plant samples were collected along 700 m of a 9-km segment of each of the three major highways in Hamedan Province (West Iran) with different traffic volumes: Hamedan-Goltapeh (HG), Hamedan-Razan (HR), and Hamedan-Kermanshah (HK). The results indicated that the mean contents of Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn in the soil samples were 0.26, 18.74, 14.98, 18.21, and 62.25 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, the mean contents of elements (mg kg⁻¹) in aerial parts of A. wilhelmsii were 0.16 for Cd, 4.52 for Cu, 1.91 for Pb, 1.70 for Ni, and 44.80 for Zn, while in the aerial part samples of C. draba, the concentrations (mg kg⁻¹) and the mean contents were 0.16, 2.29, 2.58, 1.60, and 31.29, respectively. This meant that the traffic volume affected the contents of the metals in the soil and the herbaceous species. The metal content in herbaceous tissues varied significantly between plant species. A. wilhelmsii tended to accumulate the metals in the roots while C. draba retained them mostly in the aerial parts. The significant positive correlations of Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn content in root and aerial parts of the herbaceous plant with those found in the soil samples showed the potential of the studied species for application in biomonitoring studies. Comprehensive analysis (effect of traffic volumes and relationships between the content of elements in plant tissues and soil samples) indicated that Cu in both herbaceous plants was mainly derived from soil, while A. wilhelmsii absorbed Cd and C. draba absorbed Zn mainly through the stomata from atmospheric depositions. Without considering atmospheric depositions due to intense traffic volumes, in A. wilhelmsii, the translocation factor (TF) values of Cu and Zn were 1.06 and 1.44, respectively and in C. draba, the TF values of Cd, Cu, and Pb were 1.06, 1.09, and 1.13, respectively, thus suggesting that both herbaceous species had high potentials for transferring metals from the roots to aerial parts.