It is very possible to higher higher metal concentration in plant tissues than the substrate-soil. Plants can accumulate metals to concentrations that triple the soil content and this is due to so many factors like the plant species, pH of the soil, organic matter content of the soil, transpiration rate of the plant and even the physiological functionining of the plant species like the secretion of transporters that aid transport of metals across membranes.
it is a characteristic of life for organisms to accumulate the elements they want in their tissues. That is true for plant micronutrients, such as iron, as well.
Plants uptake soil nutrients and in many cases the absorption process needs energy consumption by plants. As plants needs nutrients so much, in some cases, the nutrient concentration in the plant is many times higher than in soil. Thinking in phosphorus for example, in a unfertilized soil easily we have 0.1 - 0.2% of P (1000 - 2000 mg/kg) in plant tissue while the available P in soil is normally around 5 to 20 mg/kg (by anion resin, for example). It is at lest 100 times more in plant than in soil. The proportion should be different for micronutrients (as Fe), but is also normal to have more in plant than in the soil.
To all the contributors; If that is the case for the yes answers you all gave, l think there need for a critical review of the analytical methods of analysing/determining plant nutrient uptake and that of soil to overcome the discrepancies in the results obtain.
In general it's true what was said by other colleagues, but in many cases iron in the soil can reach the concentration of up to 100 gr kg-1, to high for any living organism accumulate a so high iron concentration. I have calculated that iron is usually accumulated in terrestrial higher plants in the roots, an there, it can reach the concentration of some gr (5-10 gr kg-1 of dry plant material).
yes defenitely always nutrient concentrations are more in plants as compared to soil. Beause of less mass of plants compared to mass of that soil.But total contents of that specific nutrients always will be greater in soil
Some plants act as toxic metal accumulators so it is possible that concentrations of the examined metal could be higher in the plant than it would be in the soil. It is simply a matter of which plants you are using, which metal you examine and of course the speciation of the respective metal in the soil sample (that is the available fraction of the metal in the soil or, in other words, the physicochemical form the metals appear).
Very good and effective suggestions have already been highlighted. So , it is possible to have higher concentration of metals in plants than soil and this phenomenon could be called as bio-accumulation of metals. This depend on the nature, type , ionic size, availability and biochemical role of the metals.