Data on the uptake of elements and radionuclides by flora from soils in arid environments are underrepresented in international databases, especially when comparing across seasons. This study improved the understanding on the uptake of natural uranium-series radionuclides, as well as more than 30 elements, in a range of Australian native flora species that are internationally representative of an arid/semi-arid zone (e.g. Acacia, Astrebla, Atriplex, and Dodonea). Results indicate that the soil-to-plant uptake ratios were generally higher when compared with international data for grasses and shrubs from more temperate environments. The majority of the elemental concentrations in grasses were higher in winter than in summer and the opposite trend was found in shrubs, which suggests that the season of collection potentially introduces variability in the reported concentration ratios. The data also suggest that grasses, being dominant and widespread species in arid zones, may be effective as a reference organism to ensure comparative assessment across sites of interest. The results of this study will improve the confidence of environmental assessments in arid zones.

在国际数据库中，特别是在跨季节比较时，有关干旱环境中土壤从植物中吸收元素和放射性核素的数据不足。这项研究提高了人们对一系列国际上代表干旱/半干旱地区的澳大利亚本土植物物种（例如，阿拉伯树胶，Astrebla，Atriplex）吸收天然铀系列放射性核素以及30多种元素的认识，和Dodonea）。结果表明，与来自更温带环境的草和灌木的国际数据相比，土壤与植物的吸收率通常更高。冬季，草中大多数元素的浓度都高于夏季，而在灌木中却发现了相反的趋势，这表明采集季节可能会导致报告的浓度比发生变化。数据还表明，草是干旱地区的优势种和广泛种，可以有效地作为参考生物，以确保对感兴趣的地点进行比较评估。这项研究的结果将提高干旱地区环境评估的可信度。