378
study of the environmental status of this kind of scenarios is, therefore, crucial to
establish the current and eventual environmental and health impacts and to assess
the right measures to be undertaken in order to minimize such impacts.
So far, many studies have been carried out for the extraction and accumulation of
toxic elements in many plants (Baroni et al. 2004; Antosiewicz 2004; Chang et al.
2005). The extraction of toxic elements from the soil by the plant still depends on
the presence and the solubility of the elements in the soil where the plant grows and
develops, the type of soil, the physical-chemical properties of the soil, the type of
plants species, the age of the plants, and the exposure time of these plants on such
soils (Marin et al. 1992).
The main goal of this study was (i) to establish the accumulation of some toxic
elements (As, Sb, Tl) to the different parts of plant tissues, in relation to its mobility
in the endemic plant species; (ii) to carry out the environmental characterization of
the soils impacted by the former exploitation of As-Sb-Tl deposit “Allchar,” Republic
of North Macedonia; and iii) to study the seven local endemic plant species Viola
allchariensis G. Beck, Viola arsenica G. Beck, Thymus alsarensis Ronn. (Bačeva
et al. 2016), Centaurea leucomalla Bornm. (Bačeva et al. 2018a), Onobrychis degenii Dörfler, Knautia caroli-rechingeri Micev., and Centaurea kavadarensis Micev.
(Bačeva et al. 2018b) and one subendemic species – Viola macedonica Boiss. and
Heldr. (Bačeva et al. 2014a), which grow spontaneously in this area.
13.2 Material and Methods
13.2.1 Study Area
The locality of Allchar is volcanogenic hydrothermal mineral deposit and is situated
at the northwestern part of the Kožuf Mts. (Republic of North Macedonia), close to
the border between the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece (Fig. 13.1). From
the geological and geotectonic point of view, ore mineralization is related to a
Pliocene volcano-intrusive complex (Janković et al. 1997; Volkov et al. 2006; Boev
and Jelenkovic 2012; Amthauer et al. 2012). The Allchar locality contains several
geological formations: complex of Precambrian metamorphic rocks; complex of
Mesozoic rocks; complex of Upper Cretaceous sediment rocks; complex of Pliocene
sediments, pyroclastics, and volcanic rocks; and complex of Quaternary sediments.
Several ore bodies occur within a zone of 2 km in length and around 300–500 m
wide. The most important ore minerals are Fe sulfides, As and Tl minerals, cinnabarite, and As, Pb, and Sb sulfosalts (Balić Žunić et al. 1993; Boev et al. 1993,
2001–2002; Volkov et al. 2006; Jelenković and Boev 2011). As a result of mineralization, the entire area of a few square kilometers is enriched with toxic elements
such as arsenic, thallium, and antimony.
K. B. Andonovska et al.
study of the environmental status of this kind of scenarios is, therefore, crucial to
establish the current and eventual environmental and health impacts and to assess
the right measures to be undertaken in order to minimize such impacts.
So far, many studies have been carried out for the extraction and accumulation of
toxic elements in many plants (Baroni et al. 2004; Antosiewicz 2004; Chang et al.
2005). The extraction of toxic elements from the soil by the plant still depends on
the presence and the solubility of the elements in the soil where the plant grows and
develops, the type of soil, the physical-chemical properties of the soil, the type of
plants species, the age of the plants, and the exposure time of these plants on such
soils (Marin et al. 1992).
The main goal of this study was (i) to establish the accumulation of some toxic
elements (As, Sb, Tl) to the different parts of plant tissues, in relation to its mobility
in the endemic plant species; (ii) to carry out the environmental characterization of
the soils impacted by the former exploitation of As-Sb-Tl deposit “Allchar,” Republic
of North Macedonia; and iii) to study the seven local endemic plant species Viola
allchariensis G. Beck, Viola arsenica G. Beck, Thymus alsarensis Ronn. (Bačeva
et al. 2016), Centaurea leucomalla Bornm. (Bačeva et al. 2018a), Onobrychis degenii Dörfler, Knautia caroli-rechingeri Micev., and Centaurea kavadarensis Micev.
(Bačeva et al. 2018b) and one subendemic species – Viola macedonica Boiss. and
Heldr. (Bačeva et al. 2014a), which grow spontaneously in this area.
13.2 Material and Methods
13.2.1 Study Area
The locality of Allchar is volcanogenic hydrothermal mineral deposit and is situated
at the northwestern part of the Kožuf Mts. (Republic of North Macedonia), close to
the border between the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece (Fig. 13.1). From
the geological and geotectonic point of view, ore mineralization is related to a
Pliocene volcano-intrusive complex (Janković et al. 1997; Volkov et al. 2006; Boev
and Jelenkovic 2012; Amthauer et al. 2012). The Allchar locality contains several
geological formations: complex of Precambrian metamorphic rocks; complex of
Mesozoic rocks; complex of Upper Cretaceous sediment rocks; complex of Pliocene
sediments, pyroclastics, and volcanic rocks; and complex of Quaternary sediments.
Several ore bodies occur within a zone of 2 km in length and around 300–500 m
wide. The most important ore minerals are Fe sulfides, As and Tl minerals, cinnabarite, and As, Pb, and Sb sulfosalts (Balić Žunić et al. 1993; Boev et al. 1993,
2001–2002; Volkov et al. 2006; Jelenković and Boev 2011). As a result of mineralization, the entire area of a few square kilometers is enriched with toxic elements
such as arsenic, thallium, and antimony.
K. B. Andonovska et al.