Publications by authors named "J Szakova"
Article Synopsis
- Biochar, made from wood chips and bone-meat residues through pyrolysis at different temperatures, can enhance soil quality while recycling organic waste.
- The study focused on how different types of biochar influenced microbial communities and enzyme activities in two soil types for a year, revealing that production temperature and feedstock impact soil health and microbial diversity.
- It was found that bone-meat residues pyrolyzed at lower temperatures reduced microbial diversity but increased specific beneficial bacteria, while wood biochar improved enzyme activity related to nutrient cycling, particularly in acidic soils.
Article Synopsis
- Selenium deficiency from malnutrition can disrupt important bodily functions, and applying Se-containing sprays to crops like soybeans can effectively enhance their selenium content without lowering yield.
- A three-year study in the Czech Republic tested various doses of selenium on soybean plants, finding that higher doses led to significant selenium accumulation in seeds while maintaining seed yield.
- The dominant form of selenium in soybean seeds was selenomethionine, making up 95% of the selenium content, while the timing of spraying affected selenium transformation and seed nutrient levels, indicating a need for optimized biofortification techniques.
Potential of herbaceous plant species for copper (Cu) accumulation.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
January 2024
The removal of copper (Cu) in soils by green technology is less treated with urgency, as it is a plant micronutrient. We examined the efficiency of Cu shoot accumulation by herbaceous plants in Cu-contaminated and non-contaminated soils in Trhové Dusniky and Podles, respectively, in the Czech Republic. The total soil Cu content of 81 mg kg in Trhové Dusniky indicated a slight contamination level compared to 50 mg kg, the permissible value by WHO, and < 35 in Podlesí, representing a clean environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHoney bees (Apis mellifera L.) represent a random biosampler integrating pollutants over space and time. An effective biomonitor for trace element (TE) pollution should provide a linear response to TE levels in the environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo groups of invertebrates, terrestrial mollusks (Gastropoda) and Chrysomela populi leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), were sampled to estimate the suitability of these organisms as bioindicators of risk element pollution (predominantly Cd, Pb, and Zn) alongside the risk element concentration gradient in the contaminated area (former mining/smelting areas in the vicinity of Příbram city, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic). The individuals representing ten species of terrestrial snails and imagoes of C. populi were collected manually at five sampling sites, differing in the level of soil contamination with risk elements.
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