An environmentally friendly approach to modern world issues: A case study from Edinburgh, Scotland

Shariq, Muhammad; Haq, Faizul; Faisal, Shah; Thomson, Mike

Abstract

Half of the forests are cleared to acquire land for industries and the rest gets affected by the activities being carried out in the industry with the use of harmful chemicals. Acquiring land is a process that takes place in a very large area because there is a need to provide residence to the labor as well. Vegetation destruction is progressing at an alarming level throughout the earth due to industrial pollution. There is a critical need for an improved understanding of how industrial pollution or soil contamination affects vegetation structure. The impact of industrial pollution on vegetation was observed in Edinburgh, Scotland. Quadrat quantitative ecological approaches were utilized for vegetation data collection. A total of 65 quadrats (plots) were randomly selected in the Industrial zone. Soil samples of roughly 400 g to a depth of 15–30 cm was collected from each plot. The samples were analyzed in the plant ecology and conservation lab to ensure whether the balance nutrients are available for plants or not. Sum of 89 species belonging to 39 were reported. The dominant family was Rosaceae followed by Poaceae and Asteraceae. CANOCO software was used for Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). PC-ORD version 5 was used to display distinct species compositions, which resulted in four plant associations. Indicator species analysis also indicated that pH, EC, and heavy metals (Fe, Cd, Cu, Zn and Cr,) were the main environmental variables in the research region that determined the vegetation structure, plant associations, and indicator plant species of distinct plant associations. It is concluded that, in addition to answering a variety of ecological problems, the current study provides a baseline for future investigations of vegetation dynamics in response to Industrial Pollution. It will be beneficial to learn how effectively these species grow, produce biomass and accumulate metal in metal contaminated soils in order to improve management and conservation efforts.

Citation

Shariq, M., Haq, F., Faisal, S., & Thomson, M. (2024). An environmentally friendly approach to modern world issues: A case study from Edinburgh, Scotland. Ecological Frontiers, 44(5), 1052-1060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecofro.2024.03.007

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 31, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 11, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-10
• Deposit Date: Jan 8, 2025
• Journal: Ecological Frontiers
• Print ISSN: 2950-5097
• Electronic ISSN: 2950-5097
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 44
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1052-1060
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecofro.2024.03.007
• Keywords: Phytoremediation, Heavy metals, Pollution, Plant association, Indicator species