Accumulating Capacity of Herbaceous Plants of the Asteraceae and Poaceae Families Under Technogenic Soil Pollution with Zinc and Cadmium

Abstract

In this study, the environmental monitoring of the long-term technogenic pollution zone of Novocherkassk, a region containing numerous heavy metal contaminations, was carried out. In the plants growing in the 5 km zone around Novocherkasskaya power station, contamination with the studied elements was revealed. The dependence of the content of Zn and Cd in herbaceous plants of the families Asteraceae and Poaceae on the distance to the source of the anthropogenic load was established. The selectivity of accumulation of metals by studied species of herbaceous plants at different levels of technogenic pollution is revealed. Achillea nobilis has the least pollutants resistant from the soil. Poa pratensis has the highest resistance to Zn and Cd pollution in terms of the set of assessment indicators. The granulometric composition of the soil has a significant impact on the availability of metals to plants. © 2020 Federation of Eurasian Soil Science Societies. All rights reserved.