No abstract

The paper presents the preliminary results obtained in a study aimed to assess the level of air pollution with heavy metals in urban areas by means of using bioindicators. The tests were carried out in one of the most polluted cities in western Romania, using as bio-indicators corticolous lichens collected from seven representative sites for air quality in the city. The assessment level of air pollution with heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cr) was based on the effect that their presence could induce on lichens. Thus, two methods were used for the quantification of the effect such as: a) IAP method, variation in diversity and abundance-calculation of the value of Index of Atmospheric Purity, IAP and b) determining the content of heavy metals in the lichen thalli, respectively. Classification of air quality from the seven sampling sites in pollution classes (low pollution, moderate pollution, high pollution and very high pollution) was based on the statistical tests for correlation between the metal concentration in the air and the specific parameters for the two evaluation methods (the IAP index value for the first method and the metals concentration in the lichen thalli for the second method). The tests results revealed a differentiated air quality in the seven sites, also indicating the method of biomonitoring with corticolous lichens as a viable option for assessing the air quality in polluted areas with heavy metals.

The objectives of the study were 1) to investigate the degree of pollution of phosphorus-loaded water using Lemna minor L. and 2) the absorption capacity of this organic compound by the Lemna minor L. aquatic plant, depending on the temperature parameter.

The current work focused on the water quality of the Bega and Timis rivers measured by two methods. One of them is the method by which the water was analyzed from a physical-chemical point of view, and the other aimed at quantifying the degree of water pollution by biological methods. In this sense, diatoms were used. In the study, samples of water and diatoms were taken using specific techniques from the Bega and Timis rivers, starting from near the area of their formation until near the border with Serbia. Four sampling points were chosen on the Timis River plus one sampling point on the Surgani River, which is a tributary of the Timis, and six sampling points on the Bega River. The points were chosen specifically, being located downstream of the major sources of pollution. In order to locate the points, information was collected from the studies carried out as part of an extensive monitoring that spanned several years. The abundance and diversity of diatom species were used to calculate the Biological Diatom Index (BDI) and the Saprobity Index (SI). These two indices provide valuable information about organic or heavy metal pollution of water bodies.