Use of a plant multiple-species experiment for assessing the habitat function of a coke factory soil before and after thermal desorption treatment

The present study focused on the impact of a coke factory soil on plants, before (NM-100%) and after (NM-TD) a thermal desorption treatment was applied. In this way, seeds from several plant species were sown in racks filled with three soil samples (control, NM-100%, NM-TD) and biological effects were studied at different organizational levels by considering ecological indices, seed germination, plant growth and biomass, leaf chlorophyll fluorescence and antioxidant responses. NM-100% soil exhibited phytotoxic effects resulting in decreased species richness, biodiversity and biomass productivity. It also exerted impacts on several species at the cellular (production of free radicals and increased lipid peroxidation) and individual (decreased photosynthesis, growth and biomass) levels. Our results tended to prove some beneficial effects of thermal desorption treatment on plants as a recovery of vegetation was observed.