Assessment of intermittent trace element pollution by moss bags

Moss bags of the aquatic bryophyte Rhynchostegium riparioides (Hedw.) C. Jens. were transplanted into an irrigation ditch in the Province of Vicenza (NE Italy), affected by intermittent trace element contamination due to galvanics. The study aimed at: (a) testing the ability of mosses to detect different patterns of pollution, (b) providing information about intensity and temporal extension of pollution events, and (c) localising the main sources. Moss bags were collected after 20, 34, 48 and 62 days of exposure. The concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in the desiccated apical shoots of mosses were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The mean concentrations measured in non-contaminated stations of a previous work were adopted as background values, to calculate the contamination factor (CF). Transplants were able to: (a) detect spatial patterns of bioaccumulation, (b) reveal chronic contamination by Pb and Cu, intermittent contamination by Cr, Zn, and Ni, and a release of Cd by moss bags, and (c) localise the main emission sources.