The tendency of some plants to take up nutrients in excess of their own requirements is known as:

Hyperaccumulation refers to the ability of certain plants to absorb and accumulate high levels of specific nutrients or contaminants from the soil, which often exceeds their normal nutritional requirements. This phenomenon can occur for various nutrients, including heavy metals or macronutrients, and is of particular interest in fields such as phytoremediation, where plants are used to extract pollutants from the soil. Plants that exhibit hyperaccumulation can thrive in environments with high concentrations of certain elements, thereby affecting soil chemistry and ecological dynamics.

Understanding hyperaccumulation is essential for agronomy and environmental science, as it plays a role in soil health, crop management, and pollution mitigation. It differentiates itself from other concepts, like overnutrition, which generally pertains to an excess of nutrients leading to toxicity in plants rather than the specific uptake and accumulation behavior exhibited by hyperaccumulating species. Nutrient leaching refers to the loss of nutrients from the soil, and nutrient saturation involves a condition where soil holds more nutrients than can be utilized by plants, neither of which aligns with the accumulation trait of certain plants.