Arabidopsis arenosa (L.) Law. on metalliferous and non-metalliferous sites in central Slovakia.

This study compared morphological characteristics and seed germinative capabilities of the metallophyte Arabidopsis arenosa grown at a copper mining heap with individuals of the same species grown at a reference site. We observed the height of the plant, the width of rosette leaves at ground level, the width and length of the lowest stem leaf, the number of seeds per silique, the below-ground biomass weight and the above-ground biomass weight. We found that the pH and the Eh of soil taken from the root sphere of A. arenosa were similar on both sites, and the pH ranged from 5.87 on the heap to 7.03 on the reference site. The measured morphological attributes and the number of seeds produced were significantly reduced (p < 0.01) in plants from the metalliferous site. The biggest difference was in leaf length, where plants from the heap were almost 2.5-times smaller. The mean germinative capacity of seeds ranged from 87% to 93%, and was not different between sites. The length of roots of germinated seeds from the heap (9.14 mm) was significantly longer than those from the reference site (8.27 mm). Results support the hypothesis of the influence of site conditions and heavy metals on the habitus of the plant and its development.