A comparison of heavy metal deposition in selected Eastern European countries using the moss monitoring method, with special emphasis on the ‘Black Triangle’
- 20 December 1996
- journal article
- Published by Elsevier BV in Science of The Total Environment
- Vol. 193 (2), 85-100
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s0048-9697(96)05333-8
Abstract
The paper describes the use of moss analyses to compare heavy-metal pollution in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Special emphasis is placed on the regions where three countries meet within the area covered by the survey. In the countries participating, samples of Pleurozium schreberi, Scleropodium purum, Hypnum cupressiforme and Hylocomium splendens, Polytrichum formosum and Dicranum scoparium were collected at a total of 831 sampling points and analyzed for the elements Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn. The results were then presented in the form of coloured contour maps using the geographic information system (GIS) ARC-Info. The values found for heavy metals document the level of technical development in the countries concerned, which is generally characterized by a low standard in respect of emission-reducing systems. Moreover, the heavy-metal concentrations reflect the sources of emissions characteristic of the areas in which they occur. Above all, these are the primary use of coal (both hard coal and lignite) as an energy source, the chemical industry and ferrous- and non-ferrous metal working, which produce considerable emissions of particulate and fly ash, and also the use of leaded petrol. In most cases the moss method made it possible to identify the areas affected by the various industrial locations. The results show an increase in heavy-metal concentrations and higher average levels in the eastern parts of the countries compared. The paper also discusses the possibility of including the ‘three-country triangle’ further east in studies of Eastern Europe on the grounds that it constitutes another ‘Black Triangle’ in addition to the already familiar one.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- The distribution of heavy metals in a transect of the three states the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, determined with the aid of moss monitoringScience of The Total Environment, 1996
- The distribution of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in topsoils of Osnabrück in relation to land useScience of The Total Environment, 1995
- Moss (Hylocomium splendens) used as biomonitor of atmospheric trace element deposition: Estimation of uptake efficienciesAtmospheric Environment, 1995
- Analysis of heavy metals and sulphur-rich compounds in the water moss Fontinalis antipyretica L. ex Hedw.Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 1995
- Bryophytes as indicators of radiocesium deposition in northeastern ItalyScience of The Total Environment, 1994
- Uptake of metal ions in moss from artificial precipitationEnvironmental Monitoring and Assessment, 1990
- Atmospheric deposition of arsenic and selenium across canada using sphagnum moss as a biomonitorScience of The Total Environment, 1988
- Interspecies calibration of heavy-metal concentrations in nine mosses and lichens:-Applicability to deposition measurementsWater, Air, & Soil Pollution, 1979
- Heavy metal content of moss in the region of Consett (North East England)Environmental Pollution (1970), 1976
- Regional and Local Variations in Heavy Metal Concentrations of Bryophytes in the Northeastern United StatesOikos, 1976