RESEARCH ARTICLE Assessment of the quality of polluted areas based on the content of heavy metals in different organs of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cv Tamjanika Slađana Č. Alagić & Snežana B. Tošić & Mile D. Dimitrijević & Milan M. Antonijević & Maja M. Nujkić Received: 25 July 2014 /Accepted: 1 December 2014 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract In this study, the samples of the spatial soil and organs of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivar Tamjanika were collected from the selected zones near the Mining and Smelting Complex Bor (East Serbia). They were analyzed by ICP-OES to determine the content of Cu, Zn, Pb, As, Cd, and Ni with the aim of ascertaining if these data may help in the assessment and improvement of the quality of environment in polluted areas such as Bor and its surrounding area. The results obtained from the calculated biological and enrichment factors, as well as from the Pearson correlation study and hierarchical cluster analysis confirmed that very useful infor- mation is recorded in plant organs: root, stem, leaves, and fruit. Yet, when the atmospheric pollution is the sphere of interest, the most informative data are found in unwashed leaves. The results of this study indicated also that the inves- tigated plant species has some highly effective strategies in- volved in tolerance to the stress induced by heavy metals, which makes it an excellent candidate for phytostabilization purposes. Planting of this grapevine cultivar can be recom- mended in all areas that are severely polluted with heavy metals. Keywords Heavy metals . Grapevine . Deposition . Bioaccumulation . Biomonitoring . Phytostabilization Introduction Terrestrial higher plants are specifically structured living sys- tems with unique ecobiological characteristics. They interact actively with three spheres, soil, water, and air, at the same time, requiring only modest nutrient input (Cunningham and Ow 1996; Schnoor et al. 1995). Along with nutrients, plant roots can absorb a range of anthropogenic toxic materials for which they have developed effective detoxification mecha- nisms (Alloway 2013; Hall 2002; Kabata-Pendias and Pendias 2001; Lytle and Lytle 2001; Palmer and Guerinot 2009). Heavy metals are just a class of such pollutants, and several of them are well known as extremely toxic and nonessential for plants: cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and arse- nic (As) (due to its toxic potential, this metalloid is considered as a heavy metal in numerous environmental researches). However, even essential micronutrients such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and nickel (Ni) may become toxic for plants when absorbed above certain threshold values (Chojnacka et al. 2005; Nagajyoti et al. 2010; Kopittke et al. 2014; Lin and Aarts 2012; Peralta-Videa et al. 2009; Rascio and Navari-Izzo 2011; Vamerali et al. 2010). Some plant species may concentrate heavy metals in root cell walls and/or vacuoles, thus minimizing their phytotoxicity (Hall 2002; Kopittke et al. 2014). It is obvious that in this way, plants may help in prevention of spreading of these dangerous contaminants in soil (Kirkham 2006). At the same time, some Responsible editor: Elena Maestri Significance: This research gives evidence that the plant parts of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cv Tamjanika can give useful information which may be used for biomonitoring purposes. At the same time, the obtained results represent a very first insight into the capability of this cultivar to assimilate heavy metals from highly polluted environment and indicate that cv Tamjanika develops some highly effective mechanisms to protect its tissues from heavy metal phytotoxicity. It is an excellent candidate for phytostabilization purposes. S. Č. Alagić (*) : M. D. Dimitrijević : M. M. Antonijević : M. M. Nujkić Technical faculty Bor, University of Belgrade, Vojske Jugoslavije 12, 19210 Bor, Serbia e-mail: sladjaal@yahoo.com S. Č. Alagić e-mail: salagic@tf.bor.ac.rs S. B. Tošić Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Chemistry, University of Nis, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia Environ Sci Pollut Res DOI 10.1007/s11356-014-3933-1