Heavy metal contents in Veronica species and soil from mountainous areas in Serbia

Abstract

This paper describes the relationships between the concentrations of selected trace elements in soil and their bioaccumulation in the aerial parts of three Veronica species (Plantaginaceae). Plant and soil samples were collected from three mountainous areas in Serbia, prepared by microwave-assisted acid digestion and analyzed by flame and flameless atomic absorption spectrometry. The total concentrations of Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe and Cr in the soil varied from 12.38 to 47.77, 62.78 to 138.00, 517.58 to 1675.78, 13574.22 to 35920.00 and 36.18 to 115.15 mg kg-1, respectively, while those in the plants ranged from 6.04 to 12.8, 27.66 to 58.01, 25.38 to 89.25, 35.53 to 563.26 and 0.44 to 18.96 mg kg-1, respectively. There were no significant differences in heavy metal concentrations between the tested Veronica species from the same location, indicating that their heavy metal uptake pattern was not species specific. In the case of Mn, despite its wide variation in the soil, the concentrations in the plant samples were uniform, which suggests the potential ability of the tested species to control Mn uptake and/or its translocation to the upper plant parts. Additionally, the lowest concentrations of Cu were obtained in plant samples collected from soil with the highest Fe concentrations, indicating that Cu availability to plants might be reduced due to high Fe contents in soil solution.

U ovom radu prikazan je odnos sadržaja odabranih elemenata u tragovima u zemljištu i njihove bioakumulacije u nadzemnim delovima tri Veronica vrste (Plantaginaceae). Biljni i uzorci zemljišta sakupljeni su sa tri planinska lokaliteta u Srbiji, podvrgnuti su mikrotalasnoj digestiji u kiseloj sredini i analizirani primenom plamene i elektrotermalne atomske apsorpcione spektroskopije. Ukupna koncentracija Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe i Cr u uzorcima zemljišta varira od 12,38 do 47,77, 62,78 do 138,00, 517,58 do 1675,78, 13574,22 do 35920,00 i 36,18 do 115,15 mg kg-1, dok se u biljnim uzorcima kreće u opsegu od 6,04 do 12,8, 27,66 do 58,01, 25,38 do 89,25, 35,53 do 563,26 i 0,44 do 18,96 mg kg-1, redom. Nisu pokazane značajne razlike u koncentraciji teških metala između testiranih Veronica vrsta sa istih lokaliteta, što pokazuje da model usvajanja teških metala nije karakteristika vrste. Uprkos velikih variranja koncentracije Mn u zemljištu, koncentracija u biljnim uzorcima je uniformna, što ukazuje na potencijalnu mogućnost testiranih vrsta da kontrolišu preuzimanje Mn ili njegov transport do nadzemnih delova biljke. Najniža koncentracija Cu dobijena je u biljnim uzorcima sakupljenim na zemljištu sa najvećom Fe koncentracijom, sugerišući da je dostupnost Cu biljkama redukovana usled visokog sadržaja Fe u zemljišnom rastvoru.