The main aim of study was to develop the environmental quality standards (EQSMP) for selected heavy metals: Pb, Cd, Hg and Ni bioaccumulated in the tissues of marine macrophytobenthic plants: Chara baltica, Cladophora spp., Coccotylus truncatus, Furcellaria lumbricalis, Polysiphonia fucoides, Stuckenia pectinata and Zanichellia palustris, collected in designated areas of the southern Baltic Sea in period 2008-2015. The calculated concentration ratios (CR), which attained very high values: 104Lkg-1 for lead, 103Lkg-1 for nickel and mercury and even 105Lkg-1 for cadmium formed the basis for the determination of EQSMP values. The EQSMP values were: 26mgkg-1d.w. for Pb, 33mgkg-1d.w. for Cd, 32mgkg-1d.w. for Ni and 0.4mgkg-1d.w. for Hg. The application of macrophytobenthic plants as bioindicators in marine environment status assessment of certain areas of the Baltic Sea is also described in the paper.
Keywords: Baltic Sea; Environment status assessment; Heavy metals; Macrophytobenthic plants.
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