Correlation between terbium and the other rare earth element contents in fern leaves

Abstract

The lanthanides (REEs) in 142 fern leaves collected from 9 sampling sites in Japan were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Between two REEs a strong positive correlation was found in the logarithmic scattering diagram with correlation and regression coefficients close to unity, suggesting neither selective accumulation by plants nor different availability from soil between the two elements. However, between Tb and the other REEs the relationship showed two lines with the same correlation coefficient. This suggested that there must be a difference in the availability of REEs or in their absorption characteristics by plants. Further analysis revealed that the splitting was due to some difference in the environmental factors where the fern grew. However, the amount of REE in the soil collected together with the corresponding fern did not reflect the REE concentration in the fern leaves.