Evaluation of Environmental Conditions in Two Cities of East Siberia Using Bio-indication Methods (Fluctuating Asymmetry Value and Mutagenic Activity of Soils)

Bioindicational evaluation of environmental quality on the territory of Yakutsk and Mirny (East Siberia, Yakutia) has been performed. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) value of leaves of the Japanese White Birch Betula platyphylla Sukacz. was examined and soil condition was assessed by occurrence of Mitosis Pathologies (MP) in germinating Japanese leek Allium fistulosum L. cultivated on samples of lawn soils. About 18,000 leaves and 37 soil samples (over 20,000 anaphase and telophase cells) was examined. In most samples from city territories statistically significant increase in FA and MP in comparison to unimpaired habitats was registered. Positive correlation between FA value and traffic load as well as total content of heavy metals in soil was found. On the territory of the administrative center (Yakutsk), motor transport was found to be the main source of the pollution. Consequently major streets, especially in the immediate vicinity of roadways, and crossroads with heavy traffic load suffer from pollution most. On the territory of the industrial center (Mirny) pollution spreads from technogenically impaired areas to the residential area. Developmental stability abnormalities and total mutagenic background indicate deterioration of environmental conditions as a consequence of combined impact of negative factors arising from anthropogenically transformed environment.