Multivariate evaluation of the influence of soil perturbation on REE distribution and accumulation patterns in plants

The demand for Rare Earth Elements (REE) is rapidly increasing due to their widespread use in advanced technologies, making them emerging environmental contaminants. Although non-essential for plants, REE can accumulate in plant tissues and transfer through trophic levels, raising questions about how plants respond to changes in soil REE composition. This study investigates the effect of soil REE perturbation on their accumulation and distribution in Vitis vinifera L. To this end, a full factorial (32 ) experimental design was implemented, combining three levels of treatment (control, low, high) with three sampling positions (soil, roots, leaves). The contribution of treatment, position, and their interaction was assessed using ANOVA–Simultaneous Component Analysis (ASCA) with permutation-based significance testing. The consistency of the inferred results was evaluated across different data processing strategies. First, inter-individual dispersion among experimental replicates was minimized through an orthogonal projection. Second, a dedicated ASCA without soil samples was performed to highlight if the significance of the position effect was driven by the artificial addition of REE. Results showed that treatment was the main driver of REE accumulation. Notably, the interaction between treatment and position explained more variance than position alone, indicating that REE distribution across compartments is modulated by soil enrichment level. The proposed approach offers a robust framework for investigating complex soil–plant interactions and supports targeted sampling strategies for field-based REE monitoring