Bioindicators among plants for assessing the environmental state and predicting health risks
Abstract
Purpose. A review and comprehensive analysis of current scientific research on the use of plant bioindicators for monitoring the state of soil, water, and atmospheric air, with a particular emphasis on predicting and minimizing risks to human health.
Results. The main anthropogenic factors of ecosystem degradation are analyzed: industrialization, intensive agriculture, urbanization and climate change, which lead to the accumulation of toxic compounds (heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum products, radionuclides) in soils, atmospheric air and water bodies. Particular attention is paid to the dual role of bioindicator plants: ecological for identifying areas with increased pollution levels and monitoring the dynamics of technogenic load, and medical and biological for assessing the impact of toxicants on human health through their entry into food chains. The mechanisms of accumulation and transformation of pollutants, morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular reactions of plants to pollution, as well as the use of biochemical and molecular markers, phytotests and microanalytical methods are considered. Examples of the use of hyperaccumulator species in monitoring various ecosystems, including urban and agricultural landscapes, are given.
Conclusions. The importance of integrating the results of bioindication studies into medical and ecological analysis for the development of preventive medicine, the formation of public health policies and strategies for sustainable natural resource management is emphasized. The obtained generalizations may be useful for botanists, ecologists, biochemists, toxicologists, physicians and public health specialists involved in monitoring and reducing the negative impact of anthropogenic pollution on the environment and humans.
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