Ecologia Balkanica

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p-ISSN: 1314-0213 / e-ISSN: 1313-9940

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Bioaccumulation of some heavy metals in plants and insects
(Plovdiv University Press "Paisii Hilendarski", 2025-10-20) Arnaudova, Desislava; Todorov, Krasimir; Stoyanov, Plamen; Georgieva, Deyana; Keranov, Hristo
The study in this scientific paper aimed to analyze the content of potentially toxic elements — heavy metals lead, cadmium, and zinc in soil, plant samples, and insect samples from three different areas: an uninhabited area, an industrial zone, and an urbanized area. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), it was found that the levels of heavy metals in soil, plants, and insects from the three studied areas were higher for lead, cadmium, and zinc in the industrial zone — soil: Pb - 850, Cd - 21.3, Zn - 996 (mg/kg); plants: Pb - 191, Cd - 7.79, Zn - 298 (mg/kg); insects: Pb - 24.5, Cd - 1.32, Zn - 160 (mg/kg). Based on the obtained data, the degree of bioaccumulation of lead, cadmium, and zinc was traced using the bioaccumulation factor (BAF) through the pathway: soil, plants, and insects. A BAF < 1 was found for plants, and a bioaccumulation process for cadmium and zinc was observed in two insect species (BAF > 2).