On the ecological features of leaf ionome of some arboreal Rosaceae in Samara region conditions

Abstract

Trees and shrubs of Rosaceae family possess a significant resource potential for the Samara region ecosystems. The quantitative study of elemental composition was carried out by X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) for leaves of 8 introduced and 3 native Rosaceae species. The features of five elements (K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn) levels are shown for them in comparison with the same parameters of two “reference plants” from different geographic locations. A very high Fe content and moderately high Mn and Zn contents were noted for leaves of all studied species. The detected high Ca concentration may be the result of plants development in soil environment with a naturally high Ca content. The revealed differences characterize the regional features of the leaf ionome, that reflecting the specifics of introduces plant species adaptation to new conditions and local species biogeochemical features.