Heavy metals and nitrogen in mosses: spatial patterns in 2010/2011 and long-term temporal trends in Europe

Naturally-occurring mosses have been sampled across Europe to monitor the deposition of heavy metals and nitrogen from the air. This survey has been repeated at five-yearly intervals since 1990 for heavy metals and since 2005 for nitrogen. In 2010/2011, mosses were collected at ca. 4,500 sites in 25 countries for heavy metals and ca. 2,400 sites in 15 countries for nitrogen. In general, the lowest concentrations in mosses were found in northern Europe for both heavy metals and nitrogen. The highest concentrations of heavy metals were often observed in south-eastern Europe, whereas the highest concentrations of nitrogen were found in parts of western and central Europe. Europe-wide the concentration of lead (77% decline), vanadium (57%), iron (52%) and cadmium (51%) has declined the most since 1990, whereas the concentration of copper has declined the least (11% decline). Since 1995, the concentration of arsenic and mercury has declined by 26% and 23% respectively. The nitrogen concentration in mosses has hardly changed since 2005

Heavy Metals Contamination in Eastern Europe: Background Load from the Atmosphere

In recent years there has been an increased interest in trace metals in the atmosphere and the environmental effects of their deposition. This is to large extent because heavy metals can accumulate in the biosphere and may be toxic to living systems. On the basis of IIASA's TRACE model, the total (wet plus dry) deposition of As, Cd, Pb and Zn has been estimated for Eastern Europe. These are annual averages for rural areas, and relate to the situation in Europe in the mid-1980s. The maximum deposition value is 3.5 mg m^{-2} yr^{-1} for As, 1.5 mg m^{-2} yr^{-1} for Cd and 50 mg m^{-2} yr^{-1} for Zn. All these maxima occur in Southern Poland. The highest total deposition of Pb (15.0-20.0 mg m^{-2} yr^{-1}) has been computed for western Czechoslovakia and also for southern Poland. Deposition levels throughout most of Eastern Europe are at least one or two orders of magnitude greater than observed in remote parts of the world. The annual average concentration of metals in some rural areas are lower, but within a factor of two of drinking water guidelines. This is cause for concern because some short-term concentrations are almost assuredly much higher than the annual average. Because of long-range transport, there is a very significant transboundary exchange of heavy metals within Eastern Europe. As with acid-causing pollutants, the problem of heavy metals contamination in the region depends on the reduction of this transboundary pollution

Heavy metals air pollution study in mines environments. Case study Bregalnica river basin, Republic of Macedonia

Application of several moss species and attic dust for monitoring of anthropogenic impact on heavy metals air pollution in Bregalnica River Basin, Republic of Macedonia, was studied. Moss samples were reviewed for their potential to reflect heavy metals air pollution. The attention was focused on their quantification ability, underlying the metal accumulation within moss plant tissue and attic dust “historical archiving”. Potential “hot spots” were selected in areas of copper mine (Bučim mine) and lead and zinc mines (Zletovo mine and Sasa mine) as main metal pollution sources in the Eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. Continuously, dust distribution from ore and flotation tailings occurs. This results with air-introduction and deposition of higher contents of certain metals. Several moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme, Homalothecium lutescens and Scleropodium purum) were used as plant sampling media. Determination of chemical elements was conducted by using both instrumental techniques: atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES) and mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS). Combination of multivariate techniques (PCA, FA and CA) was applied for data processing and identification of elements association with lithogenic or anthropogenic origin. Spatial distribution maps were constructed for determination and localizing of narrower areas with higher contents of certain anthropogenic elements. In this way influences of selected human activities in local (small scale) air pollution can be determined. Summarized data reveal real quantification of the elements distribution not only in order determination of hazardously elements distribution, but also present complete characterization for elements deposition in mines environs

Progress in the Modelling of Critical Thresholds and Dynamic Modelling, including Impacts on Vegetation in Europe : CCE Status Report 2010

Wat weten we over de relatie tussen stikstofdepositie en biodiversiteit? Dit rapport laat zien hoe de huidige kennis het Europese luchtbeleid op dit terrein kan ondersteunen. In Europa staat de biodiversiteit onder druk door onder andere een te hoge stikstofdepositie. De opstellers gaan in op de invloed van stikstofdepositie op de bodem en relevante chemische bodemprocessen. De bodem heeft invloed op de diversiteit van plantensoorten. Het kwantificeren van het verlies aan biodiversiteit zoals dat in dit rapport staat ondersteunt het Europese milieubeleid. Voorts beschrijft het rapport de effecten van de verschillende scenario's die zijn opgesteld om emissies terug te brengen. Het gaat om het reduceren van emissies voor verzuring, vermesting en zware metalen. Deze emissies zijn destijds internationaal vastgelegd in protocollen (LRTAP Conventie Gotenburg, 1999, en Aarhus, 1998). De scenario's zijn gemaakt door het Coordination Centre for Effects (CCE) in samenwerking met haar internationale partners. Deze scenario's geven inzicht in de effecten van luchtverontreiniging op de gezondheid en het milieu. Inzichten die zowel door de verenigde naties als de Europese commissie worden gebruikt voor haar beleid.This report describes the status of the impact assessment of nitrogen, sulphur and heavy metal depositions in Europe and the progress made regarding the relation between nitrogen deposition and loss of biodiversityMinisterie van Infrastructuur en Milie

A comparative analysis of the causes of air pollution in three cities of the Danube region: implications for the implementation of the air quality directives

The causes of air pollution in three cities of the Danube region (Budapest, Sofia and Zagreb) were studied using datasets of measurements and modelling tools. The contributions from different activity sectors, including natural sources and their geographical origin were quantified. It was observed that most of the pollutants are emitted locally. However, the medium to long range transport may be also considerable. On the basis of the output of the source identification, a series of measures were proposed to deal wtih the pollution problem at local, national and international levels.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

Toxic Timescapes: Examining Toxicity across Time and Space

An interdisciplinary environmental humanities volume that explores human-environment relationships on our permanently polluted planet. While toxicity and pollution are ever present in modern daily life, politicians, juridical systems, media outlets, scholars, and the public alike show great difficulty in detecting, defining, monitoring, or generally coming to terms with them. This volume’s contributors argue that the source of this difficulty lies in the struggle to make sense of the intersecting temporal and spatial scales working on the human and more-than-human body, while continuing to acknowledge race, class, and gender in terms of global environmental justice and social inequality. The term toxic timescapes refers to this intricate intersectionality of time, space, and bodies in relation to toxic exposure. As a tool of analysis, it unpacks linear understandings of time and explores how harmful substances permeate temporal and physical space as both event and process. It equips scholars with new ways of creating data and conceptualizing the past, present, and future presence and possible effects of harmful substances and provides a theoretical framework for new environmental narratives. To think in terms of toxic timescapes is to radically shift our understanding of toxicants in the complex web of life. Toxicity, pollution, and modes of exposure are never static; therefore, dose, timing, velocity, mixture, frequency, and chronology matter as much as the geographic location and societal position of those exposed. Together, these factors create a specific toxic timescape that lies at the heart of each contributor’s narrative. Contributors from the disciplines of history, human geography, science and technology studies, philosophy, and political ecology come together to demonstrate the complex reality of a toxic existence. Their case studies span the globe as they observe the intersection of multiple times and spaces at such diverse locations as former battlefields in Vietnam, aging nuclear-weapon storage facilities in Greenland, waste deposits in southern Italy, chemical facilities along the Gulf of Mexico, and coral-breeding laboratories across the world.https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/1014/thumbnail.jp

Coping with Crisis in Eastern Europe's Environment

Along with the winds of political change in Central and Eastern Europe have come the realities of severely polluted air, water and soil. Among the greatest challenges for Eastern Europeans will be how to cope with these environmental problems during a period of difficult economic and political transition. This book is one of the first published since the revolutions of 1989 giving the views of top environmental experts from six Central and Eastern European countries on these issues. In individual chapters these experts analyze the air and water quality situations of their countries in depth. Much of the data and analyses contained is being made available for the first time to an international audience. This volume not only gives an overview of the current environmental situation, but also presents many ideas for reforms and actions needed for coping with the environmental crisis in each country in the short run. These include suggestions for institutional and economic reforms, as well as specific recommendations for technology transfer and training that are most needed for environmental protection

Status and Prospect of Soil Information in South-eastern Europe: Soil Databases, Projects and Applications

This report was produced as a summary report of the JRC’s European Soil Bureau Network workshop that was held at the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb, Croatia in period from 28-30 of September 2006. The objective of this workshop was to gather key players in the development and/or implementation of soil protection policy, soil survey, soil monitoring and soil information systems and discuss further strengthening of collaborations between the countries of south-eastern Europe and JRC.JRC.H.7-Land management and natural hazard