Microevolutionary changes in ecotypes of calamine waste heap vegetation near Olkusz, Poland: a review

This paper reviews several studies dealing with the specific traits of plants growing on calamine waste heaps in the vicinity of Olkusz. The waste heaps here contain very high amounts of zinc, lead and cadmium. Particular traits distinguishing the calamine forms of the species Silene vulgaris, Dianthus carthusianorum and Biscutella laevigata make calamine plants potentially very useful for recultivating land polluted by heavy metals in Poland. Utilization of natural biological processes would seem to be the best approach to the problem of recultivation. Despite this, methods using local plant resources to reclaim areas polluted by high concentrations of heavy metals are still rarely used. The natural vegetation of areas characterized by high concentrations of heavy metals may be a valuable source of genetic material (ecotypes) ideally adapted for growth under the harsh and pioneering conditions of calamine waste heaps.