Biogenic Accumulation of Chemical Elements by Plants of Genus Poaceae Barnhart and Genus Artemisia L. in the Dry Steppe and Semidesert Zones of the South of the Russian Plain

Abstract

The steppe and semidesert landscapes of the Republic of Kalmykia and Rostov oblast (a total of 12) in various ecological and geochemical conditions (precipitation, temperature, soil salinization, position in meso and macro relief, etc.) have been studied. Samples of vegetation and soil have been taken at the selected sites, and the contents of P₂O₅, MgO, Al₂O₃, K₂O, CaO, TiO₂, MnO, Fe₂O₃, S, Sr, Ba, Zn, and Ni are measured by the X-ray fluorescent method. Organic carbon (C_org), calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), pH, and granulometric composition are additionally determined in soil. To estimate the absorption and biogenic accumulation of chemical elements by vegetation, the coefficient of biological uptake (CBU) is calculated. To interpret and visualize the data, the nonmetric multidimensional scaling method is used. It is revealed that when environmental conditions vary the content of chemical elements in the studied plants decreases as following: Sa > Al > Fe > K > S > P > Mg > Ti > Mn > Sr > Ba > Zn > Ni. The highest contents of Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ti, Ba, Zn, and Sr are shown for plants of the genus Poaceae Barnhart, and the highest contents of Ca, K, P, and S are shown for plants of the genus Artemisia L. According to the cumulative characteristics, concentrations of the studied elements in vegetation are significantly different from each other in aboveground parts of cereals, aboveground and underground parts of wormwoods, and underground parts of cereals. For the studied plant species, the coefficient of biological uptake of chemical elements >1 was revealed for S_(1.1–12.7), Zn_(0.2–6.5), K_(0.1–3.9), Ca_(0.1–3.5), Sr_(0.1–3.0), and P_(0.2–1.3).