Ecological and Geochemical Classification of the Far Eastern Arboriflora

Materials have been generalized and a systematic analysis of the elemental composition of 110 species and 28 families of plants that form the tree–shrub tiers of forest phytocenoses, as well as the structure of urban landscaping in southern Primorye, has been performed in this article. A high differentiation of the species composition in the accumulative abilities to the weight of the metal, especially Zn and Mn, is found. The most stable parameters among the species are recorded for the Cu content. The species and families of high, low, and background content of heavy metals are distinguished based on the author’s indicator, i.e., “the relative intensity of accumulation (RIA)” of chemical elements. A low content of heavy metals is more typical for the main arboriflora composition. At the same time, about half of the studied species accumulate some metals above background (average) values. The maximum content of metals, exceeding background values five times or more, is recorded in leaves (needles) of the concentrator species: Zn, Salix udensis, Populus maximowiczii, P. nigra, P. tremula, and Syringa wolfii; Mn, Salix udensis, Sorbus pochuashanensis, and Picea sp.; and Fe, Crataegus pinnatifida. A high heavy metal content the families is the most typical for Hydrangeaceae and Salicaceae; a low content is typical for Fabaceae, Pinaceae, Tiliaceae, and Aceraceae; and the background level is typical for Rosaceae. Based on the results, a phytogeochemical systematics of the main species and families of arboriflora has been developed for the first time for the vegetation of the Russian Far East.