Effect of Transport and Industrial Pollution on Morphometric Parameters and Element Composition of Potentilla fruticosa

Abstract

Changes in the morphological leaf characteristics and element composition of the overground organs of Potentilla fruticosa L. plants that grow under transport and industrial pollution conditions in the city of Novosibirsk have been analyzed. It has been established that the content of heavy metals (iron, nickel, vanadium, and titanium) has increased 1.3 to 9.5 times in the overground organs of the plants from street planting when compared to the control plants. The technogenic impact has led to a decrease in the size of the assimilation organs of the P. fruticosa leaf and a growth in the value of the index of fluctuating asymmetry of the terminal leaf lobe when compared to the background plants. The index of fluctuating asymmetry of the terminal lobe of leaf of P. fruticose shows that the environmental quality of the urbanized area is characterized by a high degree of pollution, while the environmental quality of the background area is characterized by a low degree of pollution.