Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator
This study assessed recent (2015) and past (2001) levels of air pollution in four regions of Poland by moss monitoring. The surveyed regions encompassed, among others, copper and zinc-lead industrial districts, large urban agglomerations and an area away from pollution sources. Moss (<i>Pleuro...
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doaj-66f73f327727485da027b3e6e409b5072020-11-25T01:40:00ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-02-0111215710.3390/atmos11020157atmos11020157Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a BioindicatorPaweł Kapusta0Barbara Godzik1W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, PolandW. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, PolandThis study assessed recent (2015) and past (2001) levels of air pollution in four regions of Poland by moss monitoring. The surveyed regions encompassed, among others, copper and zinc-lead industrial districts, large urban agglomerations and an area away from pollution sources. Moss (<i>Pleurozium schreberi</i>) was sampled from 117 sites. In 2001, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determined. In 2015, 10 extra elements were analyzed in addition to these metals. The results showed that the regions substantially differed in the chemical profile of air pollution, which corresponded well with the type of industry and the degree of industrialization and urbanization. There was also a significant change in air pollution between the 2001 and 2015 surveys, but it was inconsistent: its magnitude and direction were both metal-dependent and region-dependent. Namely, while the levels of some metals (e.g., Cd and Pb) decreased, other metals (e.g., Cr and Ni) showed the opposite trend. Importantly, these decreases (or increases) were usually limited to regions of low concentrations of a given metal. The results suggest that air quality has not significantly improved recently, but the type of emissions has changed. It seems that the importance of non-industrial pollution sources has increased.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/2/157biomonitoringmoss<i>pleurozium schreberi</i>air pollutiontrace metaltemporal pattern |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Paweł Kapusta Barbara Godzik |
spellingShingle |
Paweł Kapusta Barbara Godzik Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator Atmosphere biomonitoring moss <i>pleurozium schreberi</i> air pollution trace metal temporal pattern |
author_facet |
Paweł Kapusta Barbara Godzik |
author_sort |
Paweł Kapusta |
title |
Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator |
title_short |
Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator |
title_full |
Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator |
title_fullStr |
Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temporal and Cross-Regional Variability in the Level of Air Pollution in Poland—A Study Using Moss as a Bioindicator |
title_sort |
temporal and cross-regional variability in the level of air pollution in poland—a study using moss as a bioindicator |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Atmosphere |
issn |
2073-4433 |
publishDate |
2020-02-01 |
description |
This study assessed recent (2015) and past (2001) levels of air pollution in four regions of Poland by moss monitoring. The surveyed regions encompassed, among others, copper and zinc-lead industrial districts, large urban agglomerations and an area away from pollution sources. Moss (<i>Pleurozium schreberi</i>) was sampled from 117 sites. In 2001, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determined. In 2015, 10 extra elements were analyzed in addition to these metals. The results showed that the regions substantially differed in the chemical profile of air pollution, which corresponded well with the type of industry and the degree of industrialization and urbanization. There was also a significant change in air pollution between the 2001 and 2015 surveys, but it was inconsistent: its magnitude and direction were both metal-dependent and region-dependent. Namely, while the levels of some metals (e.g., Cd and Pb) decreased, other metals (e.g., Cr and Ni) showed the opposite trend. Importantly, these decreases (or increases) were usually limited to regions of low concentrations of a given metal. The results suggest that air quality has not significantly improved recently, but the type of emissions has changed. It seems that the importance of non-industrial pollution sources has increased. |
topic |
biomonitoring moss <i>pleurozium schreberi</i> air pollution trace metal temporal pattern |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/2/157 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT pawełkapusta temporalandcrossregionalvariabilityinthelevelofairpollutioninpolandastudyusingmossasabioindicator AT barbaragodzik temporalandcrossregionalvariabilityinthelevelofairpollutioninpolandastudyusingmossasabioindicator |
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