Water pollutant monitoring with aquatic bryophytes: a review

Gecheva, Gana; Yurukova, Lilyana

doi:10.1007/s10311-013-0429-z

Cited by 46 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Our results indicate that, in samples of Platyhypnidium aquaticum, the majority of measured metals (Ba, Cd, Co, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Sr, Zn, and the metalloid As), showed higher levels in the South, Central, and North zones compared to control sites. These results add to a growing body of literature finding that mosses are important bioindicators of water contamination [18,19,23,26]. The sources of contamination are likely direct discharges of household waste, agricultural, and industrial activities [5,6].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

“…They show key characteristics that set them apart from other bioindicators: (A) many species are widely distributed, (B) contaminant absorption of chemicals is passive, and not significantly affected by biotic factors, (C) they are resistant to high levels of water contamination, (D) they are rarely invasive, and E) they can bioaccumulate metals above their physiological needs due to the absence of a cuticle in their tissues [ 10 ]. Certain aquatic bryophyte species have been widely used in recent years as bioindicators [ 5 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. For instance, Fontinalis and Platyhypnidium bryophytes are the best-studied genera in terms of passive biomonitoring of metals in water, with observations from several regions in the world with chronic exposures or long-term effects of contaminants [ 10 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Platyhypnidium aquaticum as Bioindicator of Metal and Metalloid Contamination of River Water in a Neotropical Mountain City

Benítez

Torres

Morocho

et al. 2020

Plants

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Water contamination is a major environmental problem in many cities of the world. Most water contamination results from industry and human activities that generate toxic substances (e.g., metals). Rheophilic and aquatic mosses are found in lotic ecosystems, and their morphological and physiological traits are responsive to ecological and pollution gradients. Here we hypothesized that the native rheophilic moss Platyhypnidium aquaticum (A. Jaeger) M. Fleisch exposed to polluted waters can bioaccumulate greater amounts of metals, and a metalloid, than P. aquaticum exposed to pollution-free water. To this aim, we tested the bioindicator capacity of the aquatic P. aquaticum for 15 metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Fe, K, Ca, Na, Mn, V, Co, Ba, Cr, Al, Sr, and Mg) and one metalloid (As), in twelve river samples coming from three urban and one control zone along the Zamora river in the city of Loja. When compared to the control, our results showed that P. aquaticum in the Southern, Central, and Northern zones of the city bioaccumulated higher concentrations of Ba, Cd, Co, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Sr, Zn, and the metalloid As. On the other hand, concentrations of Al, Ca, Cr, Pb, and V in P. aquaticum tended to be lower in the control zone, but these differences were not significant. We suggest that the presence of these contaminants may be related to water pollution (e.g., residual discharges and a lack of treatment systems) along urban zones of the river. We report for the first time the utility of P. aquaticum as a model species for development of long-term biomonitoring programs of water contamination in South America. Passive biomonitoring with P. aquaticum can be a simple and low-cost method to obtain reliable data of the current state of water contamination with metals and metalloids in tropical regions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Platyhypnidium aquaticum as Bioindicator of Metal and Metalloid Contamination of River Water in a Neotropical Mountain City

Benítez

Torres

Morocho

et al. 2020

Plants

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“…Each bag was fully exposed to the air. Five bags were placed at each monitoring site (including the control site) and left in place for 6 weeks from 8 January to 29 February 2012, and from 27 May to 8 July 2012 [ 36 ]. The moss bags were then taken to the laboratory for chemical analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Heavy Metal Contents with Sphagnum Junghuhnianum Moss Bags in Relation to Traffic Volume in Wuxi, China

Yan

Zhou

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Despite its small size, a moss bag can reveal the different temporal and spatial deposition patterns of pollutants at a particular site; therefore, researchers can use moss bags to determine pollution sources and to put forward strategies for pollution control. Although the use of moss bags to monitor atmospheric pollution has been widely reported in Europe, there are few such empirical studies in China. Thus, in this study, bags containing the moss Sphagnum junghuhnianum were used to assess the concentrations of heavy metals (chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn)) at five sampling sites (four roads and a forest park) during the summer and winter of 2012. According to the relative accumulation factor (RAF) and contamination factor (CF) results, pollution in winter was heavier than that in summer, and Cr was found to be the most contaminating, having the highest mean CF. There was a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) between traffic volume and concentration for three heavy metals (Cr, Cu, and V) in winter, whereas a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between traffic volume and concentrations for four heavy metal elements (Cr, Pb, V, and Zn) in summer, indicating a close relationship between heavy metal contents and traffic volume. Although there was substantial variation in the concentrations of the five heavy metals in the moss bags, significant correlations between heavy metals suggested that the contaminants originated from a common source, namely vehicle emissions. The results demonstrated that the four roads were subject to different degrees of pollution depending on the volume of traffic using each road. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that traffic volume is a major reason for heavy metal pollution.

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“…(3) Are there bryophyte species strictly associated either to forest or city areas? Previous research has shown a higher concentration of pollutants in centric zones of cities [10,14,20,[26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Bryophyte Communities along a Tropical Urban River Respond to Heavy Metal and Arsenic Pollution

Vásquez

Calva

Morocho

et al. 2019

Water

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Aquatic and rheophilous bryophytes can indicate water pollution as they bioaccumulate toxic water elements. We evaluated (1) bioaccumulation of eight heavy metals and arsenic by Marchantia polymorpha L., and (2) changes in bryophyte community structure, as responses to urban pollution in southern Ecuador. To this end, we registered presence/absence and coverage of submerged bryophytes in 120 quadrats across three zones of the Zamora river inside Loja city, and a control zone in a nearby forest. We found that the concentrations of five (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Zn) of the eight chemical elements and arsenic were highest in urban M. polymorpha. Moreover, bryophyte species richness decreased in urban zones. Bryophyte community structure also differed between control and city zones, but no differences were found among city zones. The control zone was composed by a more distinct set of bryophyte species, e.g., an indicator species analysis showed that 16 species had high and significant indicator values for control zone, but only 11 species were indicators of at least one of the three urban zones. We concluded that bryophytes, in general, and M. polymorpha, in particular, can be suitable biomonitors of water quality in tropical urban rivers.

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Water pollutant monitoring with aquatic bryophytes: a review

Cited by 46 publications

References 86 publications

Platyhypnidium aquaticum as Bioindicator of Metal and Metalloid Contamination of River Water in a Neotropical Mountain City

Platyhypnidium aquaticum as Bioindicator of Metal and Metalloid Contamination of River Water in a Neotropical Mountain City

Monitoring Heavy Metal Contents with Sphagnum Junghuhnianum Moss Bags in Relation to Traffic Volume in Wuxi, China

Bryophyte Communities along a Tropical Urban River Respond to Heavy Metal and Arsenic Pollution

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