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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The influence of environmental conditions on the lifespan of mosses under long-term active biomonitoring

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Abstract Biomonitoring with living organisms is most often used in order to gather quick information about environmental quality – for example the level of heavy metals polluting the air. Experiments are not often performed when the bioindicator is exposed to pollutants over the long time (6 months and more) because this period required to obtain credible results and the risk not yet studied of physiological changes and of degeneration of the living material which would undoubtedly affect the biomonitoring results. The aim of study was to evaluate the physiological condition of Pleurozium schreberi moss species subjected to continuous exposure for a year, using the moss-bag method, under variable environmental conditions, including atmospheric aerosol contaminated by selected analytes: Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, Pb determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometer. AMA apparatus was used to measure mercury. The survival of the moss during exposure was assessed based on the measurement of chlorophyll content. As a result of the research, it was found that the concentrations of metals in mosses increased depending on the exposure time and the certain element. It was also found that mosses, despite the long period of exposure to environmental factors and the decreasing content of chlorophyll, still revealed the features of a living organism during the study and can be used in long-term biomonitoring of the environment. It was also proposed to correct the period and duration of P. schreberi exposure to air pollution in relation to the previous literature and recommend the period of 3–6 months.