The elemental composition of plants in deciduous forests of post-harvest origin in the middle taiga of the Komi Republic

The elemental composition of six species of wild forest plants growing in deciduous forests of different ages of post-harvest origin, belonging to 6 families, was studied: Ericaceae (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), Juncaceae (Juncus filiformis), Polytrichacea (Polytrichum commune), Sphagnaceae (Sphagnum magellanicum), Salicaceae (Salix caprea), Betulaceae (Betula pendula). The concentration of 14 chemical elements was determined: Mg, Ca, K, Na, Mn, Fe, Al, S, P, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb. It was found that among the studied plants, willow and birch leaves have the highest content of most of the determined elements, while cowberry and haircap moss have the lowest content. The total concentration of detectable elements in the plants of the studied deciduous phytocenoses varies from 1.4 to 3.6 % of dry matter. The dominant elements in the mineral composition of the studied plant species are Ca and K, which account for more than half of the total number of detectable elements. The concentration of Cu, Zn, Na, Fe, Al, Ni, Cd, Pb in the studied plant species, as a rule, does not exceed 8 % of the total amount of the determined elements. The difference in the chemical composition between the plants growing in the birch-spruce young stand and aspen-birch plantation was revealed. It was found that for most of the studied species, the total content and concentration of a number of elements in the aspen-birch plantation is higher than in the young stand, which is due to the age of the stands and environmental variability. For the studied plant species, no excess of the maximum permissible concentration for heavy metals was detected, so the data obtained can be used for environmental monitoring in deciduous forests.