Instrumental multi-element analysis in plant materials: A modern method in environmental chemistry and tropical systems research
This chapter describes possibilities of using instrumental multi-element methods to answer various ecological questions. Emphasis is placed on the ecosystem-related approach and thus on comparison of various ecosystems and their compartments. The basis for this is a project by the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) aimed at establishing “element concentration catalogues in ecosystems” (ECCEs). In principle, the intention is to collect data on the world-wide distribution of individual elements and element species in various ecosystems. Synthetic reference systems (reference plant, reference freshwater, etc.) in the form of chemical fingerprints can provide important aids for the chemical characterization of many different environmental specimens. From the point of view of both toxicology and nutrient physiology such a characterization of ecosystems is expected to provide important information on the concentrations, effects and reactions of individual elements in different systems. Interest has so far been focused mainly on data from the northern hemisphere, but from the biogeochemical viewpoint the scope urgently needs to be extended to cover tropical and subtropical systems.