Content and distribution of heavy metals in herbaceous plants under the effect of industrial aerosol emissions

Abstract

The effect of soil properties and distance from the source of technogenic emissions on the input of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, Mn, Cr, and Ni into herbaceous plants of the families Poaceae and Asteraceae has been studied. It is found that the high level of anthropogenic load related to the atmospheric emissions from the Novocherkassk Power Station (Russia) aggravates the accumulation of heavy metals in herbaceous plants. Contamination with Pb, Cd, Cr and Ni is revealed in plants growing near the Power Station. Correlation between the accumulation of HMs in different herbaceous plant species and the distance from the emission source is revealed. The main factors of the distribution of heavy metals in the above and underground organs of plants include the individual physiological features of different plants determining their barrier function. Ambrosia artemisiifolia (L.), Artemisia austriaca (Pall. ex. Wild.), Achillea nobilis (L.), and Tanacetum vulgare (L.) are accumulators of heavy metals.