UPWr Doctoral School PhD student will examine the toxicity of soil in urban gardens

• Plants grown in urban gardens may, in certain soil conditions, absorb trace elements, including heavy metals. 
• The doctoral student plans to study the bioavailability, i.e. the extent to which trace elements from the soils are absorbed by plants grown in it and their ecotoxicity, i.e. their toxicity to living organisms.
• Dariusz became interested in studying the environment when he was still a teenager and decided to develop this passion by choosing environmental studies at school. Today he is pursuing a PhD at the Institute of Soil Sciences, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection.

Is home grown food healthy?

Urban garden areas fulfill many important functions, one of which is the possibility of growing your own food. Green areas in cities are not only a place to relax, but can also be used for growing plants, vegetables or fruits.

Home grown food appears to be healthy, but urban soils are often contaminated with trace elements or organic pollution related to industrial activity and transport. These soils may contain potentially toxic elements such as lead, copper, cadmium, zinc and arsenic. Plants grown in allotment gardens built in post-industrial areas, can absorb these elements from the soil and may pose a risk to human health and life, as well as cause an ecological risk.

– In developing countries, people eat about 300-500 grams of vegetables a day. So it’s worth monitoring the quality of these plants, taking into account the presence of potentially harmful substances, which include heavy metals. The more polluted the environment in which the plants are grown, the greater the amount of contamination is detected in vegetables and fruits – explains the PhD student, emphasizing that not all trace elements present in the soil are available to plants. Certain conditions of the soil cause the elements to be insoluble, so plants are unable to absorb them from the soil in dangerous amounts. But, for example, when the pH of the soil becomes acidic, most of the heavy metals become available to plants, increasing the risk of their toxicity.

Ecotoxicity and bioavailability are a key aspect of the PhD student’s research

In his PhD, Dariusz Gruszka plans to research the bioavailability, i.e. the extent to which trace elements contained in garden soils are absorbed by plants and their ecotoxicity, i.e. their toxicity to living organisms. He will focus his research on the soil from urban gardens in Wrocław, the Legnica-Głogów Copper District and Złoty Stok. His analysis will cover the soil’s properties, environmental conditions and activities of the people cultivating the allotments.

– Sometimes amateur gardeners don’t use good agricultural practices, which can worsen the quality of their cultivated plants. While most trace elements are better absorbed by plants in acidic soil, arsenic, for example, is a metalloid that becomes more absorbable in alkaline soil. Without knowing this, an allotment owner can increase the bioavailability of the trace elements, putting himself and his loved ones at risk. That’s why I want to carefully check how moisture, soil pH or the fertilizers used, among other things, will affect the bioavailability of heavy metals – highlights the PhD student.

His analysis of the quality of the soil and vegetables grown in urban allotments, mainly those consumed raw, e.g. lettuce or spinach, will allow him to check whether the food produced in these areas is a threat to people consuming it.

Why work with soil?

Dariusz Gruszka's path to a PhD began in high school, when he chose environment protection studies as one of his classes. There he developed a passion for studying the ecosystem. After graduating from high school, he chose to study the same subject, just more in depth. He was an active student, his year’s representative, and for some time, he was  even the chairman of the Soil Science and Environmental Protection Student Science Club. As his supervisor, Prof. Katarzyna Szopka, states he participated in many projects, research camps, and even became the winner of the first edition of the "Młode Umysły - Young Minds Project". From this competition, he obtained funding for his first research project which focused on the ecotoxicity of soils in areas of former arsenic mining.

– I’ve been working with Dariusz for several years now. He completed his master's thesis under my wing, and now I am the supervisor of his PhD. He is an extremely diligent person, very involved in his laboratory work and the analysis of his research results – says prof. Szopka, head of the Department of Environmental Risk Analysis and Soil Remediation, who has been helping Dariusz in the development of his scientific career for many years.

Dariusz Gruszka has a similar sentiment about working with his supervisors: – I love working with Prof. Szopka. As my year’s representative, I often came into contact with her. She was our vice-dean. The research I conducted as part of the "Młode Umysły - Young Minds" competition ended with a publication that opened my way to the UPWr Doctoral School. Since then, I can always count on her help with anything to do with my research. It’s no different with my assistant supervisor, Dr. Iwona Gruss, who greatly supports me in my ecotoxicological research.

After he finishes his doctorate studies, Dariusz plans to focus on teaching in order to pass on his knowledge and passion to the next generations.

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