Toxic elements can be transported to polar regions by long-range atmospheric transport from mid and low latitudes, leading to enrichment of elements in the polar environment, especially in the Arctic. The plants can be ideal bioindicators of element contamination in environments, but information on the element enrichment and sources of plants remains limited in polar regions. Here, concentrations of 15 metals and metalloids (Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu, Co, As, Cd, Sb, Hg, Se, Fe, Zn, Mn, Al, and Ti) in six species of plants, Deschampsia caespitosa (Tufted Hair Grass), Puccinellia phryganodes (Creeping Alkaligrass), Saxifraga aizoides (Yellow Mountain Saxifrage), Dicranum angustum (Dicranum Moss), Salix Polaris (Polar Willow), and Cerastium arcticum (Arctic Mouse-Ear Chickweed), collected from Ny-Ålesund, the Arctic, were determined, and enrichment and sources of elements were assessed. Results show that element concentrations vary in different plant species, and element levels in D. angustum and C. arcticum are generally higher. In spatial terms, elevated element concentrations were found near residential areas, while low element levels were present at the sites far from settlement points. Enrichment assessment shows that Cd, Hg, and Zn are the most enriched elements, with enrichment factors above 30, suggesting sources other than soil dust control their concentrations. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the extracted three components can explain 82% of the total variance in element concentrations. The elements Ni, Cr, As, Sb, Fe, Al, Ti, and to a lesser extent Co are highly loaded in PC1, possibly associated with continental crust particles. PC2 is closely correlated with Cd, Se, Mn, Cu, and Zn, while Hg and Pb have high loadings on PC3. The elements highly loaded on PC2 and PC3 are likely associated with pollutants from atmospheric transportation. Together with enrichment assessment, the investigated plants have a great potential for monitoring atmospheric Cd, Hg, and Zn pollution in Ny-Ålesund, and D. angustum and D. caespitosa are the more sensitive species. The results would be of significance for monitoring element contamination in the pristine Arctic environments using the bioindicator plants.

中文翻译：

---

北极Ny-Ålesund采集的植物中金属和准金属的积累特征

有毒元素可以通过中低纬度的远距离大气传输而传输到极地地区，从而导致极地环境（尤其是北极地区）中元素的富集。植物可以是环境中元素污染的理想生物指示剂，但是在极地地区，有关元素富集和植物来源的信息仍然有限。在这里，六种植物（Deschampsia caespitosa）中的15种金属和准金属（Pb，Ni，Cr，Cu，Co，As，Cd，Sb，Hg，Se，Fe，Zn，Mn，Al和Ti）的浓度毛草），Puccinellia phryganodes（爬行碱），Saxifraga aizoides（黄色山虎耳草），Dicranum angustum（Dicranum Moss），Salix Polaris确定了从北极Ny-Ålesund收集的北极杨柳（Polar Willow）和北极白藜麦（Cerastium arcticum）（北极鼠耳的藜科植物），并评估了元素的富集和来源。结果表明，元素浓度在不同的植物物种中有所不同，而在杜氏杜鹃和C. arcticum中的元素含量不同一般较高。在空间方面，在居民区附近发现元素浓度升高，而远离定居点的地点则存在较低的元素水平。富集评估表明，Cd，Hg和Zn是最富集的元素，富集因子超过30，表明除土壤粉尘以外的其他来源都可以控制其浓度。主成分分析（PCA）显示，提取的三个成分可以解释元素浓度总变化的82％。Ni，Cr，As，Sb，Fe，Al，Ti和少量Co的元素含量很高，可能与大陆壳颗粒有关。PC2与Cd，Se，Mn，Cu和Zn密切相关，而Hg和Pb在PC3上的负载较高。PC2和PC3上的高负荷元素很可能与来自大气传输的污染物有关。与富集评估一起，被调查植物具有监测Ny-Ålesund大气中Cd，Hg和Zn污染的巨大潜力，并且D. angustum和D. caespitosa是较敏感的物种。该结果对于使用生物指示剂植物监测原始北极环境中的元素污染具有重要意义。