ORIGINAL ARTICLE Effects of bedrock on the chemical and Sr isotopic compositions of plants Byeong-Yeol Song • Mukesh Kumar Gautam • Jong-Sik Ryu • Dongho Lee • Kwang-Sik Lee Received: 22 June 2014 / Accepted: 21 January 2015 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 Abstract This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the chemical and isotopic compositions of plants and the lithology of their growth location. This relationship is one of the principles underlying the geo- graphical discrimination used for agricultural, forestry, and food products. Locations in South Korea with solely basaltic (Jeju), granitic (Gongju), and carbonate (Yeongwol) rocks were selected as test sites, and bedrocks, soils, and plants in each location were sampled. The multi-element composi- tions and Sr isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) were analyzed for all samples, including various soil fractions (exchangeable, carbonates, silicates) and plant parts (tree leaves, vegetable leaves, and fruits). Based on a preliminary statistical analysis (ANOVA), Ca, Mg, K, Al, Sr concentrations, and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios were selected as key variables with greater variability with location. Using these variables, a multivariate statistical analysis was conducted, and three soil fractions and plant parts were successfully discriminated according to their geographical origin (i.e., bedrock type) with statistical sig- nificance. The results indicated that Sr isotope ratios of bedrocks can be preserved in soils (except in silicate frac- tions) and plants throughout weathering and plant physio- logical processes, and are the most critical variable in the tracing of bedrock characteristics. Keywords Multi-element composition Á Sr isotopes Á Geographical discrimination Á Multivariate statistical analysis Introduction The geochemical relationship between bedrocks and soils/ plants is one of the principles underlying geographical dis- crimination studies. Plants take up vital components from soils that were originally derived from the weathering of basement rocks. During weathering, minerals in rocks are chemically and mechanically disintegrated, depending on their vulnerability, and their constituents are released into soils. The chemical composition of soils is primarily affected by the source rocks and the types of weathering processes. Therefore, the material cycles through the source rock–soil–plant system are the prin- ciple underlying the geographical discrimination used for agricultural, forestry, and food products, based on multi-ele- ment composition (Almeida and Vasconcelos 2003; Suzuki et al. 2008; Lo Feudo et al. 2010; Furia et al. 2011). For example, Almeida and Vasconcelos (2003) investigated the relationship between wines and their provenance soils using multi-element composition, and concluded that soil composi- tion has potential for use as a fingerprint of the origin of wines. Along with multi-elemental composition, stable isotopes have been increasingly used in studies of geographical Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12665-015-4087-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. B.-Y. Song Á K.-S. Lee Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea B.-Y. Song Á M. K. Gautam Á J.-S. Ryu Á D. Lee (&) Á K.-S. Lee (&) Division of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea Basic Science Institute, Chungbuk 363-883, Republic of Korea e-mail: dhlee17@kbsi.re.kr K.-S. Lee e-mail: kslee@kbsi.re.kr B.-Y. Song Chemical Analysis Division, National Forensic Service, Wonju 220-170, Republic of Korea 123 Environ Earth Sci DOI 10.1007/s12665-015-4087-2