The Moss Biomonitoring Method and Neutron Activation Analysis in Assessing Pollution by Trace Elements in Selected Polish National Parks

• Published in: Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 79; no. 3; pp. 310 - 320
• Main Authors: Kosior, Grzegorz, Frontasyeva, Marina, Ziembik, Zbigniew, Zincovscaia, Inga, Dołhańczuk-Śródka, Agnieszka, Godzik, Barbara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-10-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activation analysis; Air pollution; Air Pollution - analysis; Anthropogenic factors; Biological Monitoring - methods; Biomonitoring; Bryopsida - chemistry; Bryopsida - growth & development; Composition; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental assessment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Heavy metals; Metal concentrations; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Mosses; National parks; Neutron Activation Analysis; Parks & recreation areas; Parks, Recreational; Pleurozium schreberi; Poland; Pollution; Soil Science & Conservation; Statistical methods; Trace elements; Trace Elements - analysis; Poland
• ISSN: 0090-4341; 1432-0703
• DOI: 10.1007/s00244-020-00755-6

The concentrations of trace elements in feather moss
Pleurozium schreberi
(Brid.) Mitt. were used to indicate the relative levels of air pollution by trace elements in Polish national parks.
Pleurozium schreberi
was collected from nine national parks. The highest concentrations were recorded in the moss samples from the southern and most industrialised part of the country; the lowest from northern and north-eastern Poland. A comparison of data obtained from Polish national parks in the 1970s and 1990s showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of heavy metals. In the linear covariability estimation, the
t
quantile approach was used for multi-element comparison. A number of positive covariabilities were observed. This is a result of anthropogenic activity and the geochemical characteristics of the local environment, including crust composition to which soil composition is related. The statistical approach of
t
quantile to study common relationships between element concentrations can be used in the interpretation of biomonitoring research results in similar studies.