Local Biogeochemical Cycles of Trace Elements in Agroecosystems of Western Siberia

Abstract—

The article presents results of long-term (2005–2022) field experiments on studying the distribution and migration of trace elements in the soil–plant–animal system as exemplified by agrocenoses of the southern forested steppe of Western Siberia. A biogeochemical assessment is presented for contents of trace elements (Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Cr, and Se) in the trophic chains under certain agroecological conditions, and geochemical factors affecting the accumulation of trace elements in various types of soils and plants growing on them are analyzed. Normative quantitative characteristics are determined for the effects of trace elements on the chemical composition of the soil, the productivity and quality of the plants of grain and of the fodder and vegetable crops. Relationships between major and trace elements when they enter plants are demonstrated to depend on the levels and ratios of the concentrations of the chemical elements in the soil and the physiological needs of the plant organism during its different ontogenesis stages. The parameters of the intake of trace elements into the body of animals with plant fodder under the conditions of model experiments are established. Structural and functional changes in the animal organs during feeding on crop products grown with different contents of trace elements are analyzed.