Wild greens can contribute to the human diet as an important source of essential nutrients and drugs. Since environmental factors, including soil properties, may affect the chemical composition of plants, it is necessary among others to assess various habitats in terms of their usefulness for wild plant harvesting and to study impact of environmental factors on the qualitative and quantitative chemical composition of plants. This study was aimed at (1) examining the mineral composition of leaves of three dandelion microspecies, (2) determining the variability of macro- and microelement concentrations in dandelion leaves from populations growing on salty, brackish and non-saline coastal meadows, and (3) assessing the effects of different habitat conditions on the mineral composition of dandelion leaves. It was hypothesized that dandelion microspecies would differ significantly in the mineral composition of leaves. It was also expected that soil conditions would significantly affect nutrient concentrations in dandelion leaves, with soil salinity being the most important factor that differentiated studied populations. Leaves of three dandelion microspecies (Taraxacum balticum, T. nordstedtii, T. haematicum) were harvested in Baltic costal grasslands, along the soil salinity gradient, to determine macro- and microelement concentrations. Soil samples collected in the closest vicinity of the harvested plants showed the study sites to differ significantly in their soil properties. Moderately saline and organic soils, rich in potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca), supported T. balticum. Moderately or weakly saline and non-saline, organic or mineral soils, with lower median values of K, Mg, and Ca, were typical of T. nordstedtii sites, while the lowest median values of all the soil properties studied were found for T. haematicum sites. Our results proved that dandelion microspecies differ significantly in the mineral composition of their leaves. The between-microspecies differences were significant for all the macroelements except magnesium and all the microelements except molybdenum. Most of the macro- and microelements in leaves of the dandelion microspecies correlated positively and significantly with the soil properties, the strongest correlations being found for soil salinity and the leaf Na, Mn, Ca, Fe, K and Zn contents, followed by soil pH and the leaf Na, Mn, Fe, K, Ca, Zn and Mg. Moreover, the impact of soil properties on the mineral contents in leaves of the dandelions we examined seems to be stronger than the genetic differences between dandelion microspecies. Results of our studies on mineral composition of dandelion leaves lend support to the contention that wild greens provide essential mineral nutrients to the diet. Coastal meadows, fed by the brackish water of the Baltic Sea and free of anthropogenic pollution, are a good habitat to collect wild greens from.

中文翻译：

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栖息地条件强烈影响沿着土壤盐度梯度生长在沿海草甸上的蒲公英微生物的常量和微量元素浓度

野生蔬菜可以作为必需营养素和药物的重要来源，为人类饮食做出贡献。由于包括土壤性质在内的环境因素可能会影响植物的化学成分，因此有必要评估各种生境对野生植物收获的有用性，并研究环境因素对植物化学成分定性和定量的影响。本研究的目的是（1）检查三种蒲公英微种叶子的矿物成分，（2）确定生长在咸、咸和非盐沿海草甸上的蒲公英种群叶子中常量和微量元素浓度的变化，以及（ 3）评估不同生境条件对蒲公英叶子矿物质成分的影响。据推测，蒲公英微生物的叶子矿物成分存在显着差异。预计土壤条件将显着影响蒲公英叶子中的养分浓度，其中土壤盐分是区分研究群体的最重要因素。在波罗的海沿岸草原上，沿着土壤盐度梯度收获三种蒲公英微生物（Taraxacum balticum、T.nordstedtii、T.haematicum）的叶子，以确定常量和微量元素浓度。在距离收获植物最近的地方收集的土壤样本显示，研究地点的土壤特性存在显着差异。富含钾 (K)、镁 (Mg) 和钙 (Ca) 的中等盐度和有机土壤支持波罗的海毛霉的生长。中度或弱盐渍土和非盐渍土、有机或矿质土壤，钾、镁和钙的中值较低，是 T.nordstedtii 地点的典型特征，而所有研究的土壤性质中，T.nordstedtii 的中值最低。血肿部位。我们的结果证明，蒲公英微生物的叶子矿物质成分存在显着差异。除镁外的所有常量元素和除钼外的所有微量元素的微量物种间差异均显着。蒲公英叶片中的大多数常量和微量元素与土壤性质呈显着正相关，其中土壤盐分与叶片 Na、Mn、Ca、Fe、K 和 Zn 含量的相关性最强，其次是土壤 pH 值以及叶中的Na、Mn、Fe、K、Ca、Zn和Mg。此外，土壤性质对我们检查的蒲公英叶子中矿物质含量的影响似乎比蒲公英微生物种之间的遗传差异更强。我们对蒲公英叶矿物质成分的研究结果支持了这样的论点：野生绿色植物为饮食提供了必需的矿物质营养素。沿海草甸由波罗的海的微咸水滋养，没有人为污染，是采集野生蔬菜的良好栖息地。