The content of heavy metals in the raw materials of some representatives of the genus Paeonia L. in an urbanized environment

At present, heavy metals are generally recognized as priority soil pollutants, while the most active pollutants are their mobile forms, which can pass from solid phases into soil solutions and be absorbed by plants. It is known that the vegetative mass of agricultural crops is capable of accumulating large amounts of heavy metals. Ornamental flower crops, which firmly occupy their ecological niche, are practically not considered from this point of view. The aim of this work was to study the features of the accumulation of heavy metals in the aboveground and underground organs of some representatives of the genus Paeonia L. in the urbanized environment of the city of Ufa. The objects of research were four species ( P. peregrina Mill., P. lactiflora Pall., P. lactiflora f. rosea, P. delavayi Franch.) (Family Paeoniaceae Rudolphi) and three varieties of hybrid peony (‘Appassionata’, ‘Mustai Karim’, ‘Jeanne d’Arc’). The study of the elemental composition of the aboveground and underground parts was carried out according to the method «Determination of As, Pb, Cd, Sn, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Ni in samples of food products and food raw materials by the atomic absorption method with electrothermal atomization». Mathematical data processing was carried out using generally accepted methods of variation statistics using the AgCStat software package in the form of an Excel add-in. Eight element studies are presented for each raw material group. Quantitative indicators of elements are given in mmol/kg of air-dry raw materials. It was revealed that in the studied samples the copper content was 4.15…2520.00 times higher than that of other elements. The minimum concentrations of arsenic (0.0035…0.0064 mmol/kg), chromium (0.0019…0.0046 mmol/ kg), manganese (0.0174…0.0219 mmol/ kg) and iron (0.0059…0.0125 mmol/ kg) were noted in the roots; lead (0.003…0.037 mmol/kg), cadmium (0.0002…0.001 mmol/kg) and copper (0.1477…0.2134 mmol/kg) - in the leaves; nickel (0.0082…0.0179 mmol/kg) - in the flowers of the studied paeonies. The maximum content of arsenic (0.0062…0.0123 mmol/kg) and chromium (0.0028…0.0063 mmol/kg) was found in the leaves; lead (0.0027…0.0223 mmol/kg), nickel (0.0167…0.0209 mmol/kg), manganese (0.0173…0.0212 mmol/kg) and iron (0.0087…0.0138 mmol/kg) - in stems; cadmium (0.0002…0.0009 mmol/kg) and copper (0.144…0.244 mmol/kg) - in flowers. Therefore, cutting paeonies in the autumn before retirement avoids the accumulation of these microelements in the soil. The results of the correlation analysis showed that the absolute values of the concentrations of the studied elements in the considered taxon of paeonies correlate with each other to a moderate and strong degree.