Phytomonitoring in Donbass for Identifying New Geochemical Anomalies

Abstract

In Central Donbass, during 2018–2019, active environmental monitoring using mosses Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid allowed identification of previously unreported geochemical anomalies not associated with the region’s established geochemical background. As part of the phytomonitoring program, indicators based on morphological parameters of plant health were used, including the total manifestations of atypical polymorphism in the generative parts of flowering plants such as Centaurea diffusa Lam., Cichorium intybus L., and Tripleurospermum inodorum (L.) Sch. Bip. Through analysis of 46 elements and plant marker characteristics, a correlation was established between the accumulation of zinc in moss gametophytes and in the flowers and inflorescences of these plants, highlighting the impact of anthropogenically transformed ecotopes in the Donbass area over the 2013–2023 period.