Milinković, M.Pešić, M.Tošić Jojević, S.Andjelković, SnežanaSikirić, B.Stajković Srbinović, O.2025-12-162025-12-162025-09-08978-84-09-75471-7https://rifoc.ikbks.com/handle/123456789/264In Serbian soils, nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) are found in elevated concentrations over significant areas, often these elements origin is geochemical (from basic and ultrabasic rocks which account for about 4% of territory), but it can also be the result of anthropogenic pollution. Elevated Ni and Cr concentrations often occur in soils, which are generally suitable for agricultural production, including alfalfa cultivation. With the aim to select the nickel contaminated soil, agricultural soils from 15 locations in the central part of the country were examined for basic soil properties, and content and solubility of heavy metals. The soils with contrasting Ni concentrations (with slightly elevated and remediation Ni concentrations) were selected for further monitoring of alfalfa-soil interactions and elements translocation. The both soils were slightly acidic, moderately supplied with humus, nitrogen and available potassium, with clay mechanical composition. In addition, the inoculation with effective nitrogen-fixing bacteria rhizobia was performed at the beginning of trial, to ensure stable yields, and to examine the effect of strains on the accumulation of trace metals in the above-ground part of plants. Lower solubility of metals in weakly acidic soil and adsorption on clay minerals possibly affected the lower mobility and accessibility of elements in the soil. There is a pronounced accumulation of elements in the roots of the plant, which is confirmed by the translocation factor, which is generally less than 1. The Ni concentrations in alfalfa shoots varied depending on the strain, soil Ni and growing conditions, where inoculation with some strains reduced the Ni concentration compared to uninoculated plants. Concentrations of all tested elements were mostly in the range of common values for plants. In the soil with a higher content of Ni and Cr, significantly higher concentrations of these elements were found in all treatments, but a greater mass of alfalfa was also measured. The results indicate that inoculation of alfalfa with effective rhizobial strains showed potential for improvement of plants growth and phytostabilisation of trace elements in the soils. Further research is necessary to enable a better explanation of the relationships in the soil-plant-microorganisms system.enCC0 1.0 Universalhttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Soilrhizobiatrace elementsalfalfasoil qualityconferenceObject