Monitoring of the Contents of Manganese, Zinc, and Copper in Soils and Plants of the Central Chernozemic Region of Russia

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The paper discusses the data obtained in 2015–2018 by the State agrochemical monitoring of soils in Belgorod oblast. The research revealed that organic fertilizers are the main source of microelements entering phytocenoses. They are responsible for 79.2% manganese, 87.3% zinc and 84.2% copper of their total amount introduced with fertilizers and ameliorants. The Ap horizon of the ordinary chernozem (Haplic Chernozem) in the steppe zone contains 1.15, 1.18, and 1.14 times more manganese, zinc, and copper, respectively, than the typical chernozem (Haplic Chernozem) in the forest—steppe zone. The studied microelements show the biophylic accumulation in the arable layer. The average total content of manganese, zinc, and copper in the Ap horizon was higher than that in CCa horizon in 1.49, 1.17, and 1.22 times, respectively, in the typical chernozem; and 1.42, 1.22, and 1.16 times in the ordinary chernozem, respectively. The results of continuous monitoring proved that 38.6; 98.7, and 98.2% of the studied arable soils manifest a low supply with manganese, zinc, and copper, respectively. The highest content of manganese was found in grain (1053 mg/kg) and straw (841 mg/kg) of white lupine; that of zinc (43.5 mg/kg), in the grain of the same crop; and the maximal amount of copper was found in the soybean grain (10.5 mg/kg). The lowest accumulation of manganese (9.22 mg/kg) and zinc (26.45 mg/kg) is typical for pea grains, and that of copper, for winter wheat grains (3.60 mg/kg). The concentration of microelements was higher in grains than in straw of winter wheat, soybean and white lupine; whereas the inverse relationship was found for pea plants.