As a result of hard coal mining, specific areas of subsidence basins, which are often waterlogged, were created in the Czech part of the Upper Silesian Coal District. These areas may not have a high ecological value or, on the contrary, promising biotopes may arise here under suitable conditions, which should be our goal. As part of this work, the above-ground vegetation, and the soil seed bank (using the cultivation method) were investigated. The concentration of the risk elements chromium and arsenic, which are usually increased in mining areas, was determined by neutron activation analysis. Other environmental variables that can affect both the vegetation and the soil seed bank of subsidence basins (fine earth, slope, biotopes, and their representation in the vicinity) were also determined. Using multivariate DCA analysis, a statistically significant influence of chromium concentration and other variables on above-ground vegetation, characterized by the occurrence of many metallophytes and their high coverage, was found. The soil seed bank, which can impact the further development of vegetation, is mainly influenced by forest and wetland biotopes and the representation of areas covered by tailings in the vicinity of sampling sites. It is evident that there are species capable of resisting or accumulating chromium and arsenic pollution in both the above-ground vegetation and the soil seed bank, which can lead to the gradual rehabilitation of subsidence basins. This research can lead to a better understanding of the development of subsidence basins to increase their future ecological values.
Within the Poodří nature reserve and the Odra River old parallel channel, Slaňáky, various forms of phosphorus were investigated due to increased high concentrations of total phosphorus (Ptot) in the surface water. Surface water samples were subjected to chemical analyses using absorption spectrophotometry (Ptot and P-PO43- ) and accompanying parameters (t, O2, pH, Cond, TSS ) were measured. Next, grain size analysis of the sediment and sediment analyses using X-ray fluorescence were carried out (P, Fe, Al, Ca, Si, K, Mn, S, etc.). The seasonality of Ptot concentrations in the water was not confirmed, the reservoir behaved as a pool. The concentrations of the dissolved inorganic form P- PO43- were low when compared to Ptot, thus suspended phosphorus prevailed. This may be related to the low depth of the given water body, where stratification does not occur in contrast to deep water bodies. However, sediment resuspension is frequent, and phosphorus largely accumulates. The concentrations of Ptot in the sediment ranged around 4900 mg/kg, where the inorganic form prevailed (87.24 – 93.73 %) over the organic (6.27 – 12.76 %). At the same time, the sediment samples were abundant for sand fractions (2 – 0.03 mm), 47.86 – 60.89 %, and finest silt and clay (< 0.063 mm), 33.07 – 44.60 %.
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