Comparing Carex Species of Mid-Forest Spring Ecosystems in Terms of Ability to Accumulate Macro- And Microelements

Abstract

The aim of the research was to compare the accumulative macro-and microelements in the shoots of Carex acutiformis, Carex echinata, Carex paniculata, Carex remota and Carex rostrata. The content of components in the shoots of the plants was analyzed in relation the chemical composition of the soil. The research was done within the area of four mid-forest spring niches situated in the valley of a tributary of the Słupia River located within the area of Leśny Dwór Forest Inspectorate (Northern Poland). The examined species of Carex, in comparison to other plants in spring niches, were characterized by an average capacity to accumulate both macro-and microelements, which results in little interest in these species when planning artificial buffer zones. Out of the analyzed species, the shoots of C. echinata accumulated the largest quantities of Mg, Zn and Mn, the shoots of C. paniculata -Fe, C. remota -K, Ni, Al and Sr, C. acutiformis -N and P, and the shoots of C. rostrata -Ca and Cu. Similarities between the species of Carex, which resulted from their accumulative properties, were discovered. C. echinata and C. rostrata were characterized by high levels of bioconcentration factors (BF) for Sr, Cu and Ca and low BF for K. C. paniculata and C. remota represented high BF levels for Ni and Mg and low BF levels for Sr, Al, Mn, Cu, Ca, Fe and N. On the other hand, C. acutiformis was characterized by high BF levels for P, K and Mn. In spite of an average accumulative capacity, the examined species of Carex were characterized by highly developed surface and underground zones which had effective impact on the retention of pollutants.

Mineral Contents in Aboveground Biomass of Sedges (Carex L., Cyperaceae)

“…The biomass of the sedge species studied was characterized by relatively high concentrations of carbon, while nitrogen concentration varied strongly and reached a relatively high level in only some of the investigated taxa. Similar results were obtained by [18] in C. paniculata, C. acutiformis and C. rostrata in mid-forest spring ecosystems and [17] in the case of C. brevicuspis in a lake ecosystem, although this finding is not fully in line with previous reports stating that species of the Cyperaceae family can accumulate relatively high amounts of N. However, an increase in nitrogen concentration has been observed after mowing and a general increase in mineral concentration during the vegetation season [61][62][63].…”

“…Interestingly, the Mg contents recorded were higher than in Carex pilosa detected by [65] and in some fodder grasses, such as Phleum pratense, Lolium westerwoldicum or Dactylis glomerata and comparable with Festuca arundinacea [25,49]. However, in the study of Parzych et al [18], the average content of magnesium in Carex remained at a slightly higher level than in our study. The range of calcium content in the examined material was high, on average, fluctuating from 3.3 to 8 g kg −1 DM.…”

“…The high potassium content in Carex was confirmed in the research of [11,66]. Sedges studied by [18] showed high, but slightly lower than our study, content of K. The concentration of K in graminoids is higher at the initial stages of growth, especially in fresh leaves and other parts with intensive metabolism. This is probably connected with the structure of the aboveground biomass.…”

“…The data usually relate to the contents of the elements in sward or hay from communities with sedge participation. However, only a few papers have presented the content of selected macro and microelements in selected sedge species [6,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Most of the works on the elemental composition of sedges are related to other issues (e.g., soil or water contamination and the ability of sedges to uptake particular elements).…”

Türkiye Florasında Peyzaj Özelliği Gösteren Hiperakümülatör Bitkilerin Maden Alanlarının Onarımında Kullanımı

“…Parzych ve ark. [44].yapmış oldukları çalışma ile Carex echinata L. bitkisinin Sr, Cu and Ca elementlerini yüksek oranlarda bünyesinde taşıdığı tespit edilmiştir. Calystegia sepium L. bitkisinin ağır metallere karşı töleranslı olduğu ve yüksek oranda Cd biriktirebildiği belirlenmiştir [45].…”