Concentrations of potentially toxic elements and soil environmental quality evaluation of a typical Prosecco vineyard of the Veneto region (NE Italy)

Purpose The aim of this work was to assess the concentrations of potentially toxic elements and to evaluate the soil quality of a typical Prosecco Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin vineyard of the Veneto region, NE Italy. Materials and methods Soil samples and leaves of Taraxacum officinale and Vitis vinifera were collected during spring–summer 2014. Element determination (Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, V, and Zn) were performed with ICP-OES after microwave digestion of samples. Soil quality was assessed via the biological soil quality (BSQ-ar) index. Lipid peroxidation test was performed to evaluate the vegetation oxidative stress, based on malondialdehyde (MDA) content via spectrophotometer. Results and discussion High concentrations of Al, Mg, and P were identified in soil, while high contents of Al, Cu, Fe, and Zn were found in V . vinifera leaves. The high concentrations in soil are probably due to agricultural activities, whereas those in leaves are probably due to atmospheric deposition and repeated use of foliar sprays in viticulture. The bioconcentration factor showed an effective transport of Cu, P, and Zn, from soil to leaf. The BSQ-ar values registered were similar to those obtained in preserved soils; hence, the biological class (VI) of these soils is high. The MDA content in T . officinale and V . vinifera leaves was below the reference value for T . officinale (2.9 ± 0.2 μM), suggesting that the metal content did not stress the vegetation in the investigated site. Conclusions The MDA value for V . vinifera (1.1 ± 0.7 μM) could be adopted as another control value for soil quality, which in our case is of “good quality.” Moreover, our results suggest that high concentrations of elements detected in the analyzed samples do not influence negatively the quality of soil, but a better agronomic management could improve soil quality in the studied area.