Heavy metals in fruit and berry crops of garden plots in the conditions of a technogenically polluted geochemical province of the Bashkir Trans-Urals

The article presents the results of studies on the content and accumulation of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Cd, Pb) in soils and fruits of fruit and berry crops in household plots. Actual concentrations of heavy metals in soil and plant samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. It was found that the amount of mobile ions of heavy metals in soils did not exceed the maximum permissible levels, with the exception of Zn and Mn, which are priority metals that accumulate to a greater extent in the soils of the study area. Data analysis showed that the content of Cu (6,5–9,8 times), Zn (6,8–23 times), Fe (4,2–11,7 times), Ni (48–72 times) in fruits grown in garden plots exceeded the maximum permissible concentrations in all crops we studied. The highest amount of Cd and Pb exceeding the MAC values were found in red currant and gooseberry fruits. Cobalt concentrations exceeded the norm in the edible part of all studied fruit and berry crops, with the exception of raspberry. It was found that by the intensity of absorption, heavy metals in the fruits of woody and shrubby vegetation decreased in the following series: Fe → Ni → Pb → Cu → Co → Cd → Zn → Mn. Calculations of biogeochemical activity showed that the fruits of Prunus cerasus had the highest metal-accumulating capacity, and the lowest – Ribes uva-crispa.