Abstract
Ultramafic rocks occur in many areas in Iran. These rocks consist predominantly of partly serpentinised peridotite. The Rezvanshahr area is one of the ultramafic areas in north-western Iran. It has an elevation of 1100–1700 m above sea level and an average rainfall of ~400 mm. In this study, soils and plants from this area were collected, identified and analysed for serpentine-associated metals. Analysis of the total acid-extractable elemental concentrations in the soil showed Ni, Cr, Co, Mn, Fe, Mg and Ca concentrations up to 1823, 727, 73, 2497, 47 778, 98 452 and 6440 μg g–1 soil DW respectively. In this study, 22 plant species belonging to 13 families were collected. The highest concentration of Ni (239 μg g–1 leaf DW) was found in Trifolium tricocephalum Pursh (Fabaceae). The highest concentrations of Cr (266 μg g–1) and Mn (332 μg g–1) were found in Trifolium clusii Godr. & Gren. (Fabaceae). The most significant positive correlations were found between Ni and Mn, and Ni and Co in soil samples. Polygonum persicaria Gray contained low concentrations of Ni, Cr and Co, and may possess exclusion mechanisms to restrict excessive metal uptake.
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