300472 EX Excursion to heavy metal habitats in Slovakia (2006S)

ECTS Points: 4.5
Excursion: 4 days in May
On 2 days before start will be introductory seminars and lectures
Upon returning, results will be summarized in a protocol and presented in the frame of a seminar.
The excursion will be organized together with D. Milada Ciamporova and Dr. Vera Banasova from the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava/Sk. We will study natural and man-made heavy metal-containing habitats in central Slovakia around Banska Bistrica, a region where intensive mining goes back to the Middle Ages. Therefore, today still large regions are covered by mining dumps and carry high concentrations of heavy metals in the top layers of soil that are extremely toxic for plants. In addition, also natural contamination of the soil occurs by veins of ore that penetrate to the surface. We will analyse the physical-geochemical conditions of these habitats and the special vegetation that developed there. We will study the resistance of such metallophytes and compare them with normal plants, and we will discuss the strategies of tolerant and accumulating plants to survive the toxic situation.

Collected samples of animals, plants and soil will be analysed in the frame of the Projektpraktikum "Heavy metal stress: ecology of organisms", that is also held in the summer semester; in the Scanning Electron microscope, element analysis is taught by the group of Ultrastructure Research, and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy can be made in Seibersdorf. Although it is not strictly required, participants of the excursion are encouraged to attend also this Projektpraktikum for better understanding and deeper insight into the phenomena that we will observe in the habitats.