Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator

This study assessed recent (2015) and past (2001) levels of air pollution in four regions of Poland by moss monitoring. The surveyed regions encompassed, among others, copper and zinc-lead industrial districts, large urban agglomerations and an area away from pollution sources. Moss (Pleurozium schreberi) was sampled from 117 sites. In 2001, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determined. In 2015, 10 extra elements were analyzed in addition to these metals. The results showed that the regions substantially differed in the chemical profile of air pollution, which corresponded well with the type of industry and the degree of industrialization and urbanization. There was also a significant change in air pollution between the 2001 and 2015 surveys, but it was inconsistent: its magnitude and direction were both metal-dependent and region-dependent. Namely, while the levels of some metals (e.g., Cd and Pb) decreased, other metals (e.g., Cr and Ni) showed the opposite trend. Importantly, these decreases (or increases) were usually limited to regions of low concentrations of a given metal. The results suggest that air quality has not significantly improved recently, but the type of emissions has changed. It seems that the importance of non-industrial pollution sources has increased.

Moss species-specific accumulation of atmospheric deposition?

Background This article presents statistical analyses of elements concentrations in mosses collected in two monitoring programmes: 1. The German moss monitoring as part of the European Moss Survey conducted in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2015 at 592, 1026, 1028, 726 and 400 sites across Germany, respectively, and chemically analysed according to harmonised methods throughout Europe; and 2. The moss surveys additionally performed throughout Bavaria, federal state of Germany. The evaluations of the present study are intended to examine indications whether the element accumulations are specific to moss species and whether, therefore, conversion factors should be used. Such observations and recommendations have so far been limited to spatially confined areas and relatively few moss samples and were derived from different studies without a common methodology. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to analyse large and long-term datasets from moss surveys for differences in element concentrations in different moss species. This analysis was based on data derived from several moss species collected across Germany and specimens of only one moss species collected in the monitoring programme performed by the environmental authority of Bavaria. So far, the presented investigation is the most comprehensive one in terms of running time, spatial density of the measurement network and method harmonisation. Results The present study does neither verify nor falsify the hypothesis of moss species-specific element accumulations in mosses. This, like the other studies, is not possible because of its empirical design, since that would require strictly controlled laboratory experiments. However, this investigation yielded hints, that the differences in element accumulation in several moss species across German surveys between 1990 and 2015 are in the range of the intra- and inter-specific variance reported. Conclusion It is, therefore, advisable to continue dispensing with conversion factors so far.

Spatiotemporal Changes in Atmospheric Deposition Rates Across The Czech Republic Estimated in The Selected Biomonitoring Campaigns. Examples of Results Available For Landscape Ecology and Land Use Planning

Several large-scale and fine-scale biomonitoring surveys were carried out in the Czech Republic to estimate current and long-term accumulated atmospheric deposition rates using moss, spruce bark and forest floor humus as bioindicators since the end of 1980s. The results of the bioindicator analyses significantly correlated with available figures of deposition rates detected at the EMEP or Czech national measurement stations.The moss monitoring programmes revealed position of about 7 hot spots of high deposition loads of about 35-40 elements and indicated spatiotemporal decrease in the element deposition rates caused by restructuralization of industry, desulphurization of coal power plants and ceased distribution of leaded petrol. The deposition loads of toxic and risk elements have significantly decreased since the end of 1980s; however, increasing atmospheric deposition rates of reactive nitrogen has been bioindicated recently. The fine-scale moss monitoring campaigns, for example, delimited deposition zones around selected emission sources, revealed changes in deposition rates after introducing new technologies or delimited contaminated area in the surroundings of a chlor-alkali plant after a catastrophic flood episode. Deposition ranges of main pollution sources were mapped depicting the aerial distribution of stable lead isotopic ratios in moss, because the isotopic ratios are highly specific for each pollution source.Monitoring the spruce bark parameters enabled to recognise the distribution of acid rain, dust and sulphate deposition rates and their spatiotemporal changes across the country between 1987 and 2010. The bark investigations along altitudinal profiles showed diminishing effect of air pollution on spruce bark parameters with increasing elevation. This phenomenon can be explained by a decreasing capacity of reduced tree crowns to trap air pollutants in the mountain environment.The mapping of element content in forest floor humus revealed position of long-term spots of high accumulation of industrial pollutants and Chernobyl-derived137Cs in forests. Knowledge of these hot spots is important for health and environmental protection mainly in the areas where most of the former emission sources were cancelled and the current low atmospheric deposition rates may make a false impression of the clean landscape.The data of the Czech national moss biomonitoring surveys were accepted and stored in the database of UN ECE ICP-Vegetation for checking of air pollution and its possible effects on vegetation in Europe.