FEATURES OF ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION AND PIGMENT COMPLEX OF THE SIBERIAN LARCH NEEDLES UNDER IMPACT OF IRKUTSK ALUMINUM SMELTER EMISSIONS
L. V. Afanas’eva1, O. V. Kalugina2, M. V. Oskorbina2, T. M. Kharpukhaeva1
1Institute of General and Experimental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation
2Siberian Instititue of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Irkutsk, Russian Federation
Keywords: needles, elemental chemical composition, chlorophylls, carotenoids, chlorophyll fluorescence, technogenic emissions
Abstract
The paper presents data on the content of 32 chemical elements in the needles of the Siberian larch Larix sibirica Ledeb. trees growing at different distances from the Irkutsk aluminum smelter (IrkAS), as well as in the background areas. It is shown that a pronounced imbalance in the content of elements is observed near the plant in the needles of larch, as evidenced by an increase in the concentration of F by 2.1 times, S by 1.9 times, light metals (Al, Li, Ti, Sc) by 2.4-5.3 times compared to background values. In the group of heavy metals and metalloids, the concentrations of Be, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Fe, La, Pb, V, Zn, Y - changed to a greater extent-their increased level in the needles was noted at a distance of up to 40 km from the smelter. The concentrations of Ba, Si, As, Ni increased significantly in the industrial zone, while in the rest of the territory they were within the background values. The amount of biogenic macroelements (N, K, Ca, Mg, P, Na) in the contaminated needles increased by 17-23 %. The imbalance in the elemental composition of needles is evidenced by the indices of biogeochemical transformation, the high values of which were found in the industrial zone, the average values - at a distance of up to 5 km from the smelter, in the rest of the territory changes in the elemental composition of needles are less pronounced, and the transformation index corresponds to the minimum level. Disturbances in the work of the photosynthetic apparatus of the needles of contaminated trees are manifested in a decrease in the content of chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids, F v /F m , while the background fluorescence of chlorophyll F0, increases compared to background values. Revealed inverse correlations between the content of S, F, as well as a number of heavy metals in needles and the level of pigments in it ( R = -0.59-0.87) indicate a significant effect of emissions on the pigment complex of trees, especially in the industrial zone of the smelter and at a distance of up to 5 km from it.
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