Accumulation of toxic chemical elements by plants in the area of the Lyubavinsky gold deposit (trans-Baikal territory)
https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU0579-9414.5.80.6.4
Abstract
Gold deposits in Transbaikalia are characterized by an abnormally high content of a number of elements, especially As, which leads to soil and plant pollution and affects the health of people living there. Studies conducted in the area of the Lyubavinsky gold deposit were aimed to determine the concentrations of a number of toxic elements (As, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Hg, Pb, Sb and Tl) in soil and plants. The test areas were located at a tailings dump and within natural plant communities. To determine the concentrations of trace elements in soil and plant samples, the procedures from “Methodology for measuring the metal content in solid objects by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry” (1998) were applied. The gross content of As, Bi, Hg, and Sb in soils of the tailings dump and the surrounding area was found to be abnormally high relative to their clarks of the Earth’s crust (Rudnick and Gao, 2014). The hygienic standard of as was exceeded in the soil at all test areas, that of Hg and Sb – in the soil of the tailings dump. Herbaceous plants in the area of the tailing dump (Thermopsis lanceolata, Artemisia gmelinii) were characterized by a significant excess of the established standards for medicinal raw materials in terms of as content in the underground and aboveground parts of plants. Outside the tailing dump as concentration was slightly higher the standards, with the exception of Phlojodicarpus sibiricus, in which the as concentration in the underground part significantly exceeded the maximum permissible concentration. The concentration of the studied elements in the aboveground and underground parts of the plants depends on the biological characteristics of plants and the environmental parameters. P. sibiricus and A.gmelinii were characterized by a relatively high concentration of elements in the underground part of the plant, while T. lanceolata showed a higher concentration in the aboveground part, especially the inflorescences. The available forms of Cd, Sb, Ba, Hg, Tl, and Bi were most actively extracted by plants. It is not recommended to collect and use medicinal and forage plants near the Lyubavinsky deposit without monitoring the content of toxic elements in them.
About the Authors
V. P. Makarov
Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology SB RAS, Laboratory of Geography and Regional Nature Management
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Senior Scientific Researcher, Ph.D. in Biology
G. A. Yurgenson
Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology SB RAS, Laboratory of Geochemistry and Ore Genesis
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Chief Scientific Researcher, Professor, D.Sc. in Geology and Mineralogy
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For citations:
Makarov V.P., Yurgenson G.A. Accumulation of toxic chemical elements by plants in the area of the Lyubavinsky gold deposit (trans-Baikal territory). Lomonosov Geography Journal. 2025;(6):47-60. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU0579-9414.5.80.6.4
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