Physiological and Growth Responses of Transplants of the Moss Pseudoscleropodium purum to Atmospheric Pollutants

• Published in: Water, air, and soil pollution air, and soil pollution, 2013-10, Vol.224 (10), p.1, Article 1753
• Main Authors: Varela, Z., Roiloa, S. R., Fernández, J. A., Retuerto, R., Carballeira, A., Aboal, J. R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Applied sciences; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biological and medical sciences; Bryophyta; Cadmium; Chemical compounds; Chemical contaminants; Chemical pollution; Chlorophyll; Chromium; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Contaminants; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental monitoring; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Growth rate; Hydrogeology; Indicator organisms; Laboratories; Metal concentrations; Metals; Mosses; Physiological aspects; Physiological responses; Physiology; Pollutants; Pollution; Sampling; Soil contamination; Soil Science & Conservation; Steel-works; Studies; Transplants & implants; Water Quality/Water Pollution
• ISSN: 0049-6979; 1573-2932
• DOI: 10.1007/s11270-013-1753-4

Terrestrial mosses are used as biomonitors to assess atmospheric pollution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chemical contaminants on the physiological responses of mosses. For this purpose, we transplanted clean moss samples to five sampling sites at different distances from a steelworks factory, for different lengths of time (four periods of 1 month, two periods of 2 months and one period of 4 months). At each sampling site, we collected bulk deposition samples, and we also measured the concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, V and Zn in the moss tissues and determined the chlorophyll content (CHL) index, Fv/Fm ratio and moss growth rate, with the following aims: (a) to determine the relationships between the concentrations of elements in bulk deposition and moss samples, physiological traits and growth of the mosses; and (b) to determine whether such relationships are affected by the duration of exposure and level of contamination. Although we did not identify any such relationships, the CHL index and growth rate were both lowest at high concentrations of metals and metalloids in the moss tissues, which suggest the existence of a threshold type of response for both variables.