Skip to main content
Log in

An ecological-geochemical assessment of the state of woody vegetation in Ulaanbaatar city (Mongolia)

  • Systematic Study of Arid Territories
  • Published:
Arid Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Based on the results of a biogeochemical survey, an assessment of the state of woody vegetation in the functional zones of Ulaanbaatar is given. A strong accumulation of Zn and Cd is detected in poplar leaves, with Mo and V found in larch needles. Among the factors responsible for the accumulation of microelements in poplar leaves, the main ones are the altitude (for As, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn), city sector (V, Pb), functional zone (Cr, Sr), and composition of soils and rocks (Mo). The microelements with a high (Pb, V) and low range (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Sr, Zn) of atmospheric transfer are revealed. Poplar trees are tolerant to pollution, while larch trees suffer a significant deterioration in vital functions under urban conditions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alekseeva-Popova, N.V., Toxicity of Zinc for High Plants, in Ustoichivost’ k tyazhelym metallam dikorastushchikh vidov (Resistance of Wild Species to Heavy Metals), Leningrad: Lenuprizdat, 1991, pp. 23–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alekseenko, V.A., Geokhimiya landshafta i okruzhaushchaya sreda (Landscape Geochemistry and Environment), Moscow: Nedra, 1990, 142 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alriksson, A. and Eriksson, H.M., Distribution of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in Soil and Vegetation Compartments in Stands of Five Boreal Tree Species in N.E. Sweden, Water, Air & Soil Pollution: Focus, 2001, vol. 1, nos. 3–4, pp. 461–475.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Avessalomova, I.A., Geokhimicheskie pokazateli pri izuchenii landshaftov (Geochemical Indexes in Study of Landscapes), Moscow: Izd. MGU, 1987, 108 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bargagli, R., Biogeokhimiya nazemnykh rastenii (Biogeochemistry of Land Plants), Moscow: GEOS, 2005, 457 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bashkin, V.N. and Kasimov, N.S., Biogeokhimiya (Biogeochemistry), Moscow: Nauchnyi Mir, 2004, 648 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batjargal, T., Otgonjargal, E., Baek, K., and Yang, J.-S., Assessment of Metals Contamination of Soils in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2010, vol. 184, pp. 872–876.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Batkhishig, O., Soil-Geochemical Peculiarities of the Valley of the Tuul River, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Geogr.) Dissertation, Ulaanbaatar: Inst. Geoekologii AN Mongolii, 1999, 23 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobrovol’skii, V.V., Osnovy biogeokhimiii: Uchebnoe posobie dlya geographicheskikh, biologicheskikh, geologicheskikh, sel’skokhozyaistvennykh spetsial’nykh vuzov (Fundamental Biogeochemistry: A Study Material for Geographic, Biological, Geological and Agricultural Professional High Schools), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1998, 413 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ecosystems of the Selenga River Basin, in Biologicheskie resursy i prirodnye usloviya Mongolii: trudy sovmestimoi Rossiisko-Mongol’skoi kompleksnoi biologicheskoi ekspeditsii (Biological Resources and Natural Conditions of Mongolia: Transactions of Joined Russian-Mongolian Complex Biological Expedition), Moscow: Nauka, 2005, vol. 44, 395 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elpat’evskii, P.V. and Arzhanova, V.S., Geokhimiya landshaftov i tekhnogenez (Geochemistry of Landscapes and Technogenesis), Moscow: Nauka, 1990, 196 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frolov, A.K., Plants and Urban Ecology, in Promyshlennaya botanika: sostoyanie i perspektivy razvitiya (Industrial Botany: Conditions and Perspectives of Development), Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 1990, pp. 151–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geokhimiya okruzhayushchei sredy (Environmental Geochemistry), Moscow: Nedra, 1990, 335 p.

  • Geomorphologiya Mongol’skoi Narodnoi Respubliki (Geomorphology of the Peoples’ Republic of Mongolia), Moscow: Nauka, 1982, 259 p.

  • Graham, R.D., Absorption of Copper by Plant Roots, in Copper in Soils and Plants, Loneragan, J.F., Robson, A.D. and Graham, R.D., Eds., New York: Academic Press, 1981, 141 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunin, P.D., Evdokimova, A.K., Bazha, S.N., and Sandar’, M., Social and Ecological Problems of Mongolian Ethnos in Urban Territories, Moscow: RASKhN, 2003, pp. 1–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gzarnowska, K. The Accumulation of Heavy Metals in Soils and Plants in Warsaw area, Pol. J. Soil Sci., 1974, no. 7, 117 p.

  • Jones, J.B. Jr. and Case, V.W., Sampling, Handling, and Analyzing Plant Tissue Samples, in Soil Testing and Plant Analysis, Third Edition, SSSA Book Series, Madison, Wisconsin, 1990, no. 3, pp. 389–427.

  • Kabata-Pendias, A. and Pendias, Kh., Mikroelementy v pochvakh i rasteniyakh (Microelements in Soils and Plants), Moscow: Mir, 1989, 439 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasimov, N.S., Geokhimiya stepnykh i pustynnykh landshaftov (Geochemistry of Steppe and Desert Landscapes), Moscow: Izd. MGU, 1988, 254 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasimov, N.S., Evdokimova, A.K., Rotshil’d, E.V., Urtnasan, Zh., Biogeochemical Specialization in Plants of the Central Mongolia, Geografiya i Prirodnye Resursy, 1989, no. 2, pp. 112–119.

  • Kasimov, N.S., Kosheleva, N.E., Sorokina, O.I., Bazha, S.N., Gunin, P.D., and Enkh-Amalgan, S. Environmental Geochemical State of Soils in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Eurasian Soil Science, 2011, vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 709–721.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasimov, N.S., Lychagin, M.Yu., Evdokimova, A.K., Golovanov, D.L., and Pikovskii, Yu.I., Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Heat-and-Power Engineering), Intermountain Hollow, in Ekogeokhimiya gorodskikh landshaftov (Ecogeochemistry of Urban Landscapes), Kasimov, N.S., Ed., Moscow: Izd. MGU, 1995, pp. 231–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klumpp, A., Ansel, W., Klumpp, G., Beluzzo, N., Calatayud, V., Chaplin, N., Garrec, J.R., et al., EuroBionet: A Pan-European Biomonitoring Network for Urban Air Quality Assessment, in Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2002, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 199–203.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kosheleva, N.E., Makarova, M.G., and Novikova, O.V., Heavy Metals in Leaves of Wood Species in Urban Landscapes, Vestnik MGU, Ser. 5: Geografiya, 2005, no. 3, pp. 74–81.

  • Kosheleva, N.E., Kasimov, N.S., Bazha, S.N., Gunin, P.D., Golovanov, D.L., Yamnova, I.A., and Enkhamgalan, S., Pollution of Soils by Heavy Metals in Industrial Cities of Mongolia, Vestnik MGU, Ser. 5: Geografiya, 2010, no. 3, pp. 20–27.

  • Lozanovskaya, I.N., Orlov, D.S., and Sadovnikova, L.K., Ekologiya i okhrana biosphery pri khimicheskom zagryaznenii (Ecology and Protection of Biosphere at Chemical Pollution), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1998, 287 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makhon’ko, K.P., Aerosol and Root Pollution of Vegetation by Ni in Suburb of Operating Plant, Trudy V Vsesoyuznogo soveshchaniya po issledovaniyu migratsii zagryaznyayushchikh veshchestv v pochvakh i sopredel’nykh sredakh (Transactions of V All-Union Meeting on Investigation of Migration of Pollutants in Soils and Adjacent Environments), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1989, pp. 207–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markova, Yu.L., Evaluation of Industrial and Transport Influence on Ecosystem of National Park Losinyi Ostrov, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Geol.-Miner.) Dissertation, Moscow: MGU, 2003, 28 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metodicheskie rekommendatsii po geokhimicheskoi otsenke zagryazneniya territorii gorodov khimicheskimi elementami (Methodological Recommendations to Geochemical Evaluation of Pollution of Cities by Chemical Elements), Moscow: IMGRE, 1982, 112 p.

  • Metodicheskie rekommendatsii po otsenke zagryaznennosti gorodskikh pochv i snezhnogo pokrova tyazhelymi metallami (Methodological Recommendations to Evaluation of Polluted Urban Soils and Snow Cover by Heavy Metals), Bol’shakov, V.A., Vodyanitskii, Yu.N., et al., Eds., Moscow: Pochvennyi Inst. im. V.V. Dokuchaeva, 1999, 32 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Migeon, A., Richaud, P., Guinet, F., Chalot, M., and Blaudez, D., Metal Accumulation by Woody Species on Contaminated Sites in the North of France, Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 2009, vol. 204, no. 1–4, pp. 89–101.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murzaev, E.M., Mongol’skaya Narodnaya Respublika: Fiziko-Geograficheskoe opisanie (Mongolian Peoples’ Republic: Physical-Geographical Description), Moscow: Geografgiz, 1952, 472 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nogina, N.A., Pochevennyi pokrov i pochvy Mongolii (Soils of Mongolia), Moscow: Nauka, 1984, 192 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novikova, O.V., Ecological-Geochemical Evaluation of Woods in Urban Landscapes (by Example of Moscow and Kito Cities), Cand. Sci (Geogr.) Dissertation, Moscow: RUDN, 2005, 164 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novikova, O.V. and Kosheleva, N.E., Ecological-Geochemical Evaluation of Wood Plants in Kito City (Equador), Vestnik MGU, Ser. 5: Geografiya, 2007, no. 6, pp. 43–48.

  • Novikova, O.V., Makarova, M.G., and Kosheleva, N.E., Associations of Microelements in Wood Plants in Moscow and Kito Cities, Vestnik RUDN, Ser.: Ekologiya i Bezopastnost’ Zhiznedeyatel’nosti, 2004, no. 1 (10), pp. 178–186.

  • Paribok, T.A., Sozykina, N.A., and Temp, G.A., Concentration of Metals in Tree Leaves in a City, Botanicheskii Zhurnal, 1982, vol. 67, no. 11, pp. 1533–1539.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavlović, P., Mitrović, M., and Djurdjević, L., An Ecophysiological Study of Plants Growing on the Fly Ash Deposits from the “Nikola Tesla-A” Thermal Power Station in Serbia, in Environmental Management, 2004, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 654–663.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Plekhanova, I.O. and Obukhov, A.I., Zinc and Cadmium in Soils and Plants in Urban Environment, in Zinc i kadmii v gorodskoi srede (Zinc and Cadmium in Urban Environment), Moscow: Nauka, 1992, pp. 144–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rucandio, M.I., Petit-Domínguez, M.D., Fidalgo-Hijano, C., and García-Giménez, R., Biomonitoring of Chemical Elements in an Urban Environment Using Arboreal and Bush Plant Species, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2010, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 51–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sawidis, T., Marnasidis, A., Zachariadis, G., and Stratis, J., A Study of Air Pollution with Heavy Metals in Thessaloniki City (Greece) Using Trees as Biological Indicators, in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 1995, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 118–124.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Statisticheskii byulleten’ Upravleniya statistiki g. Ulan-Batora za mai 2008 g. (Statistical Bulletin of Administration of Statistics of Ulaanbaatar City, May 2008), Ulaanbaatar, 2008, 23 p.

  • Temp, G.A., Nickel in Plants Related with Its Toxicity, in Ustoichivost’ k tyazhelym metallam dikorastushchikh vidov (Resistance of Wild Species to Heavy Metals), Leningrad: Lenuprizdat, 1991, pp. 139–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ufimtseva, N.D. and Terekhina, N.V., Fitoindikatsiya ekologicheskogo sostoyaniya urbogeosistem Sankt-Peterburga (Phytoindication of Ecological State of Urbogeosystems of St. Petersburg), St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2005, 339 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X. and Jia, Y., Study on Adsorption and Remediation of Heavy Metals by Poplar and Larch in Contaminated Soil, in Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2010, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 1331–1338.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. S. Kasimov.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © N.S. Kasimov, N.E. Kosheleva, O.I. Sorokina, P.D. Gunin, S.N. Bazha, S. Enkh-Amgalan, 2011, published in Aridnye Ekosistemy, 2011, Vol. 17, No. 4(49), pp. 5–22.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kasimov, N.S., Kosheleva, N.E., Sorokina, O.I. et al. An ecological-geochemical assessment of the state of woody vegetation in Ulaanbaatar city (Mongolia). Arid Ecosyst 1, 201–213 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096111040081

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096111040081

Keywords

Navigation