Accumulation of Chemical Elements in the Biochemical Food Chain of the Northern Norilsk Plateau

—The influence of industrial emissions on the content of ash elements in the biogeochemical food chain “snow cover–soil–willow bushes–willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus L.)” was investigated in the northern Norilsk plateau. A significant enrichment in metal pollutants (Ni, Cu, Co, Fe) and deficiency in Mn was found in the leaves of Salix lanata L . and the browse of the willow ptarmigan, indicating the unbalanced input of these chemical elements into plants and animals. Increased accumulation of copper, nickel, iron, cobalt, and cadmium was revealed in the willow ptarmigan muscles. The high cadmium concentrations were not caused by contamination, but were related to the high content of this metal in the winter forage (end shoots and buds of dwarf willow).