干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The concentration of selenium in 97 plants related to seven different species and the associated soil samples was considered in an arid area in the central part of Iran. The mean of Se in the soil samples varied from 0.17 to 0.43 mgkg(-1) which is within the worldwide range. There was a highly significant correlation (r=0.688, p < 0.01) between selenium concentration in the two soil depths (e.g. 0-5 cm and 5-25 cm) indicating that the selenium in deeper parts of the soil (5-25 cm) has most probably originated from the surface part (0-5 cm). The highest accumulation of Se was recorded in the chives with the average value of 0.35 mgkg(-1). Except for apricot, the concentrations of selenium in top parts of the plants (e.g. leaf, grain, fruit) were higher than stem/stalk implying the facile translocation of this element in the considered plant species. The higher than one bio concentration factors (BCFs) of selenium for the chives, spindle tree and wheat is indicative of high phytoremediation potential for these plants.