Bioaccumulation pattern of lanthanides in pteridophytes and magnoliophytes species from Atlantic Forest Andre ´ Luis Lima de Arau ´jo • Elisabete A. De Nadai Fernandes • Ma ´rcio Arruda Bacchi • Elvis Joacir De Franc ¸a Received: 8 June 2011 / Published online: 26 June 2011 Ó Akade ´miai Kiado ´, Budapest, Hungary 2011 Abstract The availability of chemical elements for plants is mainly dependent on the nature of the soil and charac- teristics of each species. The transfer factors of lanthanides from the soil to the tree leaves of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, were calculated for one fern species (Alsophila sternbergii—Pteridophyta division) and four magnolio- phytes species (Bathysa australis, Euterpe edulis, Garcinia gardneriana and Guapira opposita—Magnoliophyta divi- sion) obtained in two areas of Serra do Mar State Park and collected in two different seasons. Samples were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The soil-to-plant transfer factor (TF = C plant :C soil ) in magno- liophytes species was correlated to the mass fraction of lanthanides in the soil, described by a exponential model (TF = a.C soil -b ). Despite the tree fern Alsophila sternbergii presented a hyperaccumulation of lanthanides, this species did not have a significant relationship between TF and mass fraction in soil. Results indicated that plants of Magnoliophyta division selected the input of lanthanides from the soil, while the same was not observed in Alsophila sternbergii. Keywords Soil-to-plant transfer factor Á Plateau model Á Rare earth elements Á Angiosperms Introduction The lanthanides, constituted by rare earth elements (REE) together with Y and Sc, are a group of chemical elements that has had attention on their distribution and physiolog- ical functions in plants only in the last three decades [1]. There is little information about toxicity or essentiality of this group of chemical elements in the metabolism of plants [2]. Apparently, high mass fraction of lanthanides can inhibit seed germination, root growth, nutrient uptake, nodulation and fixation of nitrogen and photosynthesis [1]. Nevertheless, several experiments, mainly conducted in China, demonstrate that the use of lanthanides in crops can promote significant increases in production [3–5]. Wyttenbach et al. [6] observed that the soil–plant transfer factors (TF) for almost all lanthanides have a large variation intra- and inter-species during an experiment performed in Swiss Midlands, finding no correlation between the mass fractions in plants and surrounding soil. Ferns are a botanical group weakly explored in the bio- chemical point of view [5], however these plants are recognized by several authors for their ability to hyperac- cumulate lanthanides [5, 7, 8]. Ozaki et al. [6] reported that seasonality seems to influence the foliar mass fraction of lanthanides in ferns, with higher values during spring season. Here, the lanthanides were studied in fern species (Also- phila sternbergii—Pteridophyta division) and magnoliophytes A. L. L. de Arau ´jo (&) Á E. A. De Nadai Fernandes Á M. A. Bacchi Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, 96, Piracicaba, SP 13400-970, Brazil e-mail: allaraujo@cena.usp.br E. A. De Nadai Fernandes e-mail: lis@cena.usp.br M. A. Bacchi e-mail: mabacchi@cena.usp.br E. J. De Franc ¸a Centro Regional de Cie ˆncias Nucleares do Nordeste, Comissa ˜o Nacional de Energia Nuclear, Avenida Prof. Luiz Freire 200, Recife, PE 51740-540, Brazil e-mail: ejfranca@cnen.gov.br 123 J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2012) 291:187–192 DOI 10.1007/s10967-011-1283-8