Comparative studies of metal air pollution by atomic spectrometry techniques and biomonitoring with moss and lichens.

Our study was dedicated to the analysis of air pollution level with metals in Dambovita County, Romania; maps of the concentration distributions for air pollutants were drawn; statistical analysis includes calculation of the background concentrations and the contamination factors. The highest values of the contamination factor CF is 63.1 ± 6.63 for mosses samples and 33.12 ± 3.96 for lichens and it indicates extreme contaminations in the surroundings of steel works and an electric plant. The comparison of the distribution maps for Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations enables the identification of the pollution sources, the limits of areas with very high levels of pollution, the comparison of the concentration gradients in some areas and the influence of woodlands on the spread of pollutants through the air.

Studies concerning heavy metals bioaccumulation of wild edible mushrooms from industrial area by using spectrometric techniques.

The aim of this work was to determine the heavy metal content of the fruiting bodies of four species of wild edible mushrooms and their respective substrates. The samples were collected from Dambovita County, Romania, at various distances from of a metal smelter, to asses the concentration of Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se and Cd in the wild edible mushrooms and their substrate using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry together with Flame Atomic Absorption (FAAS) spectrometry. A quantitative evaluation of the relationship of element uptake by mushrooms from substrate was made by calculating the coefficient accumulation (K(a)). A high accumulation of Zn (K(a) range 1.01 to 2.01) was observed in mushrooms growing in the vicinity of the metal smelter.

Modelling spatial patterns of correlations between concentrations of heavy metals in mosses and atmospheric deposition in 2010 across Europe.

BACKGROUND: This paper aims to investigate the correlations between the concentrations of nine heavy metals in moss and atmospheric deposition within ecological land classes covering Europe. Additionally, it is examined to what extent the statistical relations are affected by the land use around the moss sampling sites. Based on moss data collected in 2010/2011 throughout Europe and data on total atmospheric deposition modelled by two chemical transport models (EMEP MSC-E, LOTOS-EUROS), correlation coefficients between concentrations of heavy metals in moss and in modelled atmospheric deposition were specified for spatial subsamples defined by ecological land classes of Europe (ELCE) as a spatial reference system. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and logistic regression (LR) were then used to separate moss sampling sites regarding their contribution to the strength of correlation considering the areal percentage of urban, agricultural and forestry land use around the sampling location. After verification LDA models by LR, LDA models were used to transform spatial information on the land use to maps of potential correlation levels, applicable for future network planning in the European Moss Survey. RESULTS: Correlations between concentrations of heavy metals in moss and in modelled atmospheric deposition were found to be specific for elements and ELCE units. Land use around the sampling sites mainly influences the correlation level. Small radiuses around the sampling sites examined (5 km) are more relevant for Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn, while the areal percentage of urban and agricultural land use within large radiuses (75-100 km) is more relevant for As, Cr, Hg, Pb, and V. Most valid LDA models pattern with error rates of < 40% were found for As, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and V. Land use-dependent predictions of spatial patterns split up Europe into investigation areas revealing potentially high (= above-average) or low (= below-average) correlation coefficients. CONCLUSIONS: LDA is an eligible method identifying and ranking boundary conditions of correlations between atmospheric deposition and respective concentrations of heavy metals in moss and related mapping considering the influence of the land use around moss sampling sites.

Spatially valid data of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and nitrogen derived by moss surveys for pollution risk assessments of ecosystems.

For analysing element input into ecosystems and associated risks due to atmospheric deposition, element concentrations in moss provide complementary and time-integrated data at high spatial resolution every 5 years since 1990. The paper reviews (1) minimum sample sizes needed for reliable, statistical estimation of mean values at four different spatial scales (European and national level as well as landscape-specific level covering Europe and single countries); (2) trends of heavy metal (HM) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in moss in Europe (1990-2010); (3) correlations between concentrations of HM in moss and soil specimens collected across Norway (1990-2010); and (4) canopy drip-induced site-specific variation of N concentration in moss sampled in seven European countries (1990-2013). While the minimum sample sizes on the European and national level were achieved without exception, for some ecological land classes and elements, the coverage with sampling sites should be improved. The decline in emission and subsequent atmospheric deposition of HM across Europe has resulted in decreasing HM concentrations in moss between 1990 and 2010. In contrast, hardly any changes were observed for N in moss between 2005, when N was included into the survey for the first time, and 2010. In Norway, both, the moss and the soil survey data sets, were correlated, indicating a decrease of HM concentrations in moss and soil. At the site level, the average N deposition inside of forests was almost three times higher than the average N deposition outside of forests.

The bioaccumulation and translocation of Fe, Zn, and Cu in species of mushrooms from Russula genus.

INTRODUCTION: Many previous studies revealed a high ability of mushrooms to accumulate heavy metals from environment. This paper concerns the capacity of some wild macromycetes belonging to Russula genus to accumulate heavy metals in natural condition of pH (between 6.5 and 6.8) and the pattern of metal translocation in the fruiting body. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The studied Russula species are Russula virescens, Russula cyanoxantha, Russula foetens, and Russula nigrescens, which were harvested from forestry ecosystem from South Romania. The metal concentration in mushrooms and their substrate was established by EDXRF method. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The concentrations of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) in the fruiting body depends on species and vary between 58.83-340.34, 19.70-99.62, and 5.03-9.37 mg/kg for Fe, Zn, and Cu, respectively. The bioaccumulation factor has subunit values for the three studied trace metals, which show the low capacity of these species of mushrooms to accumulate metals if the concentrations in soil increase over the normal threshold for these elements. The high values of translocation factor demonstrate the mobility of Fe, Zn, and Cu in the studied mushrooms.