POTENTIALLY TOXIC ELEMENTS AND RARE EARTH ELEMENTS IN PLANTS FROM THE LAKE KALIMANCI BANK (NE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA)

Abstract

Potentially toxic elements (PTE) and rare earth elements (REE) are often increased in the environment, especially nearby active or abandoned mines. While NE Macedonia is very rich with metal ore bodies also elevated pollution is expected in the surrounding ecosystems. NE part of the country is also very important agricultural area where several food crops are being produced and consequently water from local lakes and rivers is being used for irrigation. In present paper we have focused on different plant species growing on the Lake Kalimanci bank. All plant species were analyzed for PTE and REE. Results revealed that the PTEs (Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, As and Cd) in the studied plant species show great enhancement in all samples and also exceed the recommended and allowable limits. Meanwhile REEs reflect a very similar range among all samples. Generally, all REEs were in the safe range, according to currently known regulations.