Analysis of Fe, Zn, Ni, Cu and Mn content in the soil – Artemisia arenaria system of the Astrakhan region

One of the main processes of soil degradation in the Astrakhan region is soil pollution by anthropogenic chemicals (agriculture, motor vehicles, and the oil refining industry). Due to the increasing anthropogenic load on ecosystems, it is necessary to continuously monitor the content and accumulation of chemical elements in both soils and plants growing in them. The article evaluates the features of the elemental composition (fe, Zn, ni, cu, and mn) of soils and sandy wormwood Artemisia arenaria (DC, 1838) of the Limansky, Ikryaninsky, Kamyzyaksky, and Volodarsky districts of the Astrakhan region. Using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, the concentrations of chemical elements in soil and plant samples were determined, and biological accumulation coefficients were calculated based on the data obtained. Iron and manganese were found to be the most abundant elements in the soils of the Astrakhan region, while copper was found to be the least abundant. Moreover, copper concentrations in soils exceeded both the clarke and background levels. The Ikryaninsky district had the highest concentrations of iron, zinc, and nickel, while the Kamyzyak district had the highest concentrations of copper and manganese. The Limansky district had the lowest concentrations of most of the metals studied. In terms of concentration in sandy wormwood, chemical elements were arranged in the following descending order: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Ni. The highest chemical element contents were observed in plants of the Ikryaninsky and Kamyzyaksky districts, while the lowest contents were found in plants of the Volodarsky district. The highest values of the accumulation coefficient of chemical elements by plants were recorded in the Ikryaninsky and Kamyzyaksky districts, with plants actively accumulating only zinc from the soil (Kn > 1). Cu, Ni, Mn, and Fe migrate from the soil to the plant at a slower rate.