Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41366583›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental monitoring and assessment2025

Grass is a tattletale: using grass as a biomonitoring tool for remote sensing of coal combustion residue contamination.

Alice Goldstein-Plesser, Anna Ulanova, Maxwell Lutz, Julie Parno, Nicole Wuerslin, Korynna Rankin, Jazmine Hawkins, Margaret Kurth, Samuel Beal, Timothy Cary and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Alice Goldstein-PlesserCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Anna UlanovaOak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, 1299 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA.
Maxwell LutzCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Julie ParnoCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Nicole WuerslinCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Korynna RankinCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Jazmine HawkinsOak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, 1299 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA.
Margaret KurthEnvironmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Rd, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA.
Samuel BealCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Timothy CaryCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
Jeffrey SummersOffice of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC, 20585, USA.
Taylor RycroftEnvironmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Rd, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA.
Franz J LichtnerCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA. Franz.J.Lichtner@usace.army.mil.

Funding

US Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management A2305-089-096-043856
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Coal-fired power plants generate coal combustion residuals (CCRs), which are typically disposed of in landfills and surface impoundments that must be monitored to ensure that hazardous constituents such as arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) do not escape into the surrounding environment. Traditional methods for monitoring surface impoundments, such as sampling discharge of all outlets of hydraulic structures to approximate CCR concentrations, are highly resource-intensive and largely manual, posing a significant cost challenge for the stakeholders responsible for them. The use of grass species as bioindicators may offer a more efficient and sustainable method for long-term monitoring of CCR impoundments. In this study, we sought to determine whether three species of grass could serve as effective bioindicators for detecting changes in As and Se soil contamination profiles and provide an evaluation of three technologies used for evaluating plant health. Lolium perenne, Panicum virgatum, and Paspalum notatum were treated with As or Se and monitored with a spectroradiometer and multispectral camera to detect a spectral response to the chemical stress. Metal transfer analysis revealed that there was a significant change in metal concentrations in plant tissue across the grass species and different treatments, with Paspalum virgatum providing the best dose response after a week of Se treatment. Lolium perenne provided a response past the Se toxicity threshold of 5 mg/kg. We then expanded this study to a field scale to determine if our results would translate to an environmentally relevant scale. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) results suggested Lolium perenne was efficient in determining whether CCR was present in soils but lacked sensitivity to differentiate between low and high loadings. Monthly sampling also revealed that metal concentration in plant tissue decreased as plants underwent senescence. Data collected with the UAV proved to be the most proficient method of determining a dose response.

Indexed as

Biological MonitoringCoalEnvironmental MonitoringPoaceaeRemote Sensing TechnologySoil PollutantsArsenicSeleniumArsenicCoalSeleniumSoil PollutantsBiomonitoringCoal combustion residuals (CCR)Grass bioindicatorSpectral imagingUnmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

Identifiers

PMID41366583
PMCPMC12689824

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.