The Elemental Chemical Composition of Populus tremula in the Conditions of Technogenic Ecosystems of Kuzbass

Populus tremula L. (aspen) is one of the widespread species of woody plants, which has not yet been sufficiently studied in both ecological and biogeochemical terms. It is known that Cd can accumulate in elevated quantities in the above-ground parts of aspen. This is especially important in connection with the interest in the integrated use of wood resources. The aim of this work has been a comparative study of the content of chemical elements in various organs of P. tremula undergrowth under technogenic effects on the phytocenosis. Using the method of atomic emission spectrometric analysis (for As and Hg – atomic absorption spectroscopy), we have analyzed the content of 30 chemical elements in the aboveground organs of young P. tremula plants from technogenically disturbed habitats of Kuzbass (south of Western Siberia), including on overgrown rock dumps pf coal pits. No relationship has been found between the content of ash or individual chemical elements and the type of ecotope disturbance. The total number of chemical elements increases from the bark to the leaf blade, i.e. as you move towards more physiologically active organs. The lowest ash content is typical for bark, it is higher for stems, while no dependence of ash content on age has been found, and the concentrations of Al, Ca, Cr, Fe, Ga, Mn, Na, Si and Ti have been statistically significantly different in the “clean” and “dusty” stems. In addition to the above elements, “dusty” petioles have contained more Ba, Be, La, Pb, Sc and Zr, and the leaf blades have also contained V, Y and Yb. A direct strong correlation has been established between the ash content and the content of the listed chemical elements: 0.64–0.87 for stems and 0.75–0.93 for petioles and leaves. The Cd level in leaves, petioles and some bark samples of P. tremula exceeds the maximum permissible concentration for herbal medicinal raw materials. The absence of a correlation between the content of this element and the dustiness of the samples indicates that high Cd concentrations in the aboveground organs are due to the species characteristics of P.tremula, namely its high translocation potential.