Relevance of canopy drip for the accumulation of nitrogen in moss used as biomonitors for atmospheric nitrogen deposition in Europe

Forest mosses sensitively indicate nitrogen deposition in boreal background areas

“…The lowest total N concentrations (<0.6%) of mosses (mossN%) are measured in background areas in northern Europe (Poikolainen et al 2009) and Scotland with annual Ntot deposition <3 kg ha -1 yr -1 (Harmens et al 2011), whereas the highest mossN% (> 2.5%) are measured in areas of intensive agriculture with high NH3 emissions e.g. in the UK (Pitcairn et al 2006) and Germany (Harmens et al 2014, Meyer et al 2015. In remote boreal areas, a possibility to apply mossN% as bioindicator of N deposition instead of costly maintenance of continuous monitoring systems is of special interest.…”

“…Mosses are widely used as a bioindicator for long-term trends and regional distribution of total N (Ntot) deposition in Europe (Harmens et al 2011(Harmens et al , 2014Skudnik et al 2014, Meyer et al 2015, Kosonen et al 2018. The lowest total N concentrations (<0.6%) of mosses (mossN%) are measured in background areas in northern Europe (Poikolainen et al 2009) and Scotland with annual Ntot deposition <3 kg ha -1 yr -1 (Harmens et al 2011), whereas the highest mossN% (> 2.5%) are measured in areas of intensive agriculture with high NH3 emissions e.g.…”

Monitoring of Heavy Metals and Nitrogen Concentrations in Mosses in the Vicinity of an Integrated Iron and Steel Plant: Case Study in Czechia

“…Both samplings were performed within 1 day, namely, on 27 June 2017 and 26 October 2017. If possible, moss was collected from tree stumps or dead wood to avoid contamination by soil particles and out of a tree canopy [55][56][57][58]. Based on field investigation and species occurrence, Brachythecium rutabulum (Hedw.)…”

Bioindication and modelling of atmospheric deposition in forests enable exposure and effect monitoring at high spatial density across scales

“…The canopy drip effect on concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, N, Ni, Pb and Zn in moss was determined in specimens sampled in north-western Germany. Thereby, samplings were conducted beyond forest tree canopies (open site, n = 26 in 2012 and 2013), below forest tree canopies (throughfall site, n = 30 in 2012 and 2013) and at the border between these two site categories (edge site, n = 24 in 2012, n = 23 in 2013) (Meyer 2017;Meyer et al 2015a). Measured concentrations (μg g ) in moss sampled across Germany in 2005 in a spatial resolution of 3 km by 3 km were derived from Pesch et al (2007) and .…”

“…The correlation analyses encompassed (Tables 1 and 2) and spatially estimated for unsampled locations; (c) EMEP and LE modelled HM deposition values and respective HM concentrations in tree foliage (ESB and ICP Forests) and surface soil specimens (ICP Forests); (d) concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, N, Ni, Pb and Zn in moss collected inside and outside of forests in north-western Germany. For the latter investigation, computations of bivariate correlation between concentrations of HM and N in moss and site factors were complemented by multivariate analyses conducted by the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) method and the Random Forest approach (rF) (Meyer 2017;Meyer et al 2015a). Potentially influencing factors regarded were the following: site category (open, edge, throughfall); modelled atmospheric deposition (Cd, Hg, N, Pb); distance between sampling sites and roads, residential areas, distance to sea, E-PRTR 1 sources; land use (agricultural, silvicultural, urban) in different radiuses around sampling sites; buildings for livestock; industry; altitude above sea level; annual average precipitation; and population density.…”