Biogeochemical survey of the Allchar (North Macedonia) arsenic-thallium ore body: a focus on hyperaccumulator plants

IF 3.9 2区农林科学 Q1 AGRONOMY

Plant and Soil Pub Date : 2025-02-22 DOI:10.1007/s11104-025-07252-6

Ksenija Jakovljević, Katerina Bačeva Andonovska, Mirko Salinitro, Tomica Mišljenović, Antony van der Ent

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Abstract

Background and aims

The Allchar site in North Macedonia has a unique geology exceptionally enriched in arsenic and thallium, making the local soils extremely toxic to plant life. Surprisingly, the mineralized soils at Allchar host a diverse flora, with unknown metal(loid) accumulation potential for most of these plant species. The main aim of this study was to determine the elemental profiles ('elementomes') of plant species growing naturally in the Allchar area and to assess their elemental accumulation in relationship to concentrations in the soil in which the plants grow.

Methods

Samples of in total 23 plant species (with at least 4 replicates per species) and their associated rhizospheric soils were collected in the field at the Allchar site in North Macedonia and analysed with monochromatic X-ray fluorescence analysis for total and DTPA-extractable metal and metalloid concentrations.

Results

High foliar concentrations of thallium were found in some plant species, being the most extreme in Silene latifolia, at 79,200 µg g⁻¹ thallium, whilst arsenic concentrations are generally low in most of the plant species analysed. Thallium hyperaccumulation (> 100 µg g⁻¹) was found in the families Violaceae, Lamiaceae and Caryophyllaceae. Particularly high foliar thallium concentrations were found in Viola arsenica and V. tricolor subsp. macedonica, reaching up to 31,600 and 11,700 μg g⁻¹ thallium, respectively. The elemental concentrations in soil and plant samples reflect that of the local mineralogy of the three different areas investigated at the Allchar site, with the highest mean values for thallium and arsenic in the Crven Dol area, and 249 and 3970 μg g⁻¹, respectively, in the plants that were analysed.

Conclusion

The present study led to the discovery of several new thallium hyperaccumulating plant species, such as Clinopodium alpinum, Anthyllis vulneraria and Linum hirsutum, whereas the thallium concentrations found in Silene latifolia are the highest thus far recorded in nature highlighting the potential of this species for thallium phytomining applications.

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背景和目的北马其顿的 Allchar 地段地质独特，砷和铊含量特别高，使得当地土壤对植物的毒性极强。令人惊讶的是，Allchar 的矿化土壤中生长着多种植物，但其中大多数植物物种的金属（loid）积累潜力尚不清楚。这项研究的主要目的是确定在阿尔查尔地区自然生长的植物物种的元素特征（"元素组"），并评估其元素积累与植物生长土壤中浓度的关系。方法在北马其顿 Allchar 地区的野外采集了 23 种植物（每个物种至少有 4 个重复样本）及其相关根瘤土壤的样本，并用单色 X 射线荧光分析法分析了总金属和 DTPA 可萃取金属以及类金属的浓度。结果在一些植物物种中发现铊的叶片浓度很高，其中花叶茜的铊浓度最高，达到 79,200 µg g-1，而在分析的大多数植物物种中，砷的浓度普遍较低。在堇菜科（Violaceae）、腊梅科（Lamiaceae）和石竹科（Caryophyllaceae）中发现了铊的高积累（> 100 µg g-1）。Viola arsenica 和 V. tricolor subsp. macedonica 的叶片铊浓度特别高，分别达到 31 600 微克 g-1 和 11 700 微克 g-1 。土壤和植物样本中的元素浓度反映了在 Allchar 遗址调查的三个不同地区的当地矿物学特征，其中 Crven Dol 地区的铊和砷平均值最高，而在接受分析的植物中，铊和砷的平均值分别为 249 μg g-1 和 3970 μg g-1。结论本研究发现了几个新的铊高积累植物物种，如高山茵陈、蝼蛄和连翘，而在 Silene latifolia 中发现的铊浓度是迄今为止在自然界中记录到的最高值，这突出表明了该物种在铊植物矿应用方面的潜力。

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来源期刊

Plant and Soil 农林科学-农艺学

CiteScore

8.20

自引率

8.20%

发文量

543

审稿时长

2.5 months

期刊介绍： Plant and Soil publishes original papers and review articles exploring the interface of plant biology and soil sciences, and that enhance our mechanistic understanding of plant-soil interactions. We focus on the interface of plant biology and soil sciences, and seek those manuscripts with a strong mechanistic component which develop and test hypotheses aimed at understanding underlying mechanisms of plant-soil interactions. Manuscripts can include both fundamental and applied aspects of mineral nutrition, plant water relations, symbiotic and pathogenic plant-microbe interactions, root anatomy and morphology, soil biology, ecology, agrochemistry and agrophysics, as long as they are hypothesis-driven and enhance our mechanistic understanding. Articles including a major molecular or modelling component also fall within the scope of the journal. All contributions appear in the English language, with consistent spelling, using either American or British English.