Background and aims Ultramafic soils constitute an extreme environment for plants because of specific physico-chemical properties and the presence of Ni, Cr, and Co. We hypothesized that type of ultramafic parent rock depending on their origin affects the composition of soils and plants. Therefore, phytoavailability of metals would be higher in soil derived from serpentinized peridotite compared to serpentinite because of differences in susceptibility of minerals to weathering. Results Based on DTPA-CaCl 2 extractions, we noted that soil derived from the serpentinized peridotite is characterized by a higher phytoavailability of Ni compared to soil derived from the serpentinite. On the contrary, plant species growing on soil derived from the serpentinite contain higher concentrations of metals. Conclusions Our study suggests that the metal uptake by plants is controlled by the mineral composition of parent rocks, which results from both their original magmatic composition and later metamorphic processes. Chemical extractions show that the phytoavailability of Ni and Co is higher in soil derived from the serpentinized peridotite than the serpentinite. Surprisingly, plants growing on the soil derived from the serpentinite contain higher levels of metals compared to these from the serpentinized peridotite derived soil. This contrasting behavior is due to higher abundances of Ca and Mg, not only Ni and Co, in soil derived from the serpentinized peridotite as compared to those in the soil derived from the serpentinite. Calcium and Mg are favored by plants and preferably fill the available sites, resulting in low Ni and Co intake despite their higher abundances.
For a long time, the soils covering areas strongly transformed by human were ignored in scientifi c discourse. Also, practice did not care much about these soils because of their unproductivity. Only the large post-mining areas reclaimed and transformed into a forest or agricultural land were more interesting both for science and practice. In the case of post-mining areas the term "soilless land" was used for a long time, especially in relation to areas which were not reclaimed. In this paper, the past studies (until the end of 20 th century) of technogenic soils in Poland were described. Technogenic soils of urban and industrial areas appeared in scientifi c considerations in Poland in the second half of the 20 th century. In those times, soil properties on disposal sites were mainly investigated as a basic information for further design of technical and biological reclamation on disposal sites. Two Polish scientists should be emphasised as the world pioneers in concepts and studies of technogenic soils: (1) Michał Strzemski, who proposed a classifi cation scheme for soils in urban and industrial areas, as well as listed the tasks for future studies of these soils, and (2) Tadeusz Skawina, who focused on the dynamic and directions of the soil-forming processes on the mine spoils in the context of their reclamation. Moreover, studies of technogenic soils in the last two decades were also shown in the paper. From the beginning of the 21 st century the scientifi c research gained momentum. Nowadays, Polish researchers have great achievements in studying technogenic soils, including investigation of their properties, genesis, evolution, classifi cation, biological features etc. Furthermore, we drew some outlines for future studies of Technosols.
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