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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Nickel accumulation by species of Alyssum and Noccaea (Brassicaceae) from ultramafic soils in the Urals, Russia

Anzhelika Yu. Teptina A B and Alexander G. Paukov A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Biology, Institute of Natural Sciences, Ural Federal University (UrFU), Lenin Ave., 51, Ekaterinburg, 620000, Russia.

B Corresponding author. Email: ateptina@gmail.com

Australian Journal of Botany 63(2) 78-84 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT14265
Submitted: 14 October 2014  Accepted: 25 February 2015   Published: 5 May 2015

Abstract

Cool temperate regions have a limited number of species able to accumulate nickel (Ni) and other heavy metals in above-ground tissues. Our study was conducted in order to find accumulators of Ni on serpentine soils in the Middle and Southern Urals. Above-ground tissues of plants as well as soil samples were collected in 10 ultramafic massifs. Our results confirmed hyperaccumulation activity of Alyssum obovatum (C.A.Mey.) Turcz. Three species that appeared to be hemi-accumulators of Ni are Alyssum litvinovii Knjaz., Alyssum tortuosum Willd. and Noccaea thlaspidioides (Pall.) F.K.Mey. All these species are facultative accumulators/hyperaccumulators and exhibit different concentrations of Ni under a range of soil conditions. The highest Ni concentration was found in A. obovatum in Krakinskiy massif (6008 μg·g–1 dry mass), A. tortuosum (1789 μg·g–1) and A. litvinovii (160 μg·g–1) in Khabarninskiy massif, and N. thlaspidioides (741 μg·g–1) in Sugomakskiy massif (Southern Urals). Regression analysis shows statistically significant dependence of Ni concentrations in soil and tissue of both A. obovatum and A. tortuosum. The latter shows a dramatically high difference in the level of accumulation that varies from excluder to 20 μg g–1 Ni to hyperaccumulator levels, suggesting the existence of genetically distinct populations with the ability to vary their accumulation of Ni.

Additional keywords: hyperaccumulator plants, heavy metals, serpentine soils.


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