The Use of Mosses in Biomonitoring of Air Pollution in the Terrestrial Environment: A Review

Environmental biomonitoring is an excellent supplement to instrumental methods of environmental quality assessment. The use of biological methods has many advantages (relatively low cost, independence from the source of energy in the field etc.). The limitation in the use of bioindication methods is the inability to compare the results with legal environmental pollution standards. Mosses are commonly used in air pollution monitoring. Mosses exhibit most of the characteristics attributed to effective bioindicators. The advantage of mosses over other bioindicators comes from the fact that the result depends only on-air pollution due to the lack of practical contact with the soil. Mosses are used in air pollution biomonitoring in two basic methods: naturally growing or transplanted to the researched area. They are most often used to assess air pollution by metals and other elements, but also by various organic compounds. A prerequisite for successful application of these methods is strict adherence to a recognised methodology and standardisation of all activities, such as random selection of measurement points. The article presents a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of biomonitoring of air pollutants, along with a final recommendation for their use, provided that appropriate methodological rigor is maintained. An important advantage of mosses in biomonitoring is their relatively practical ease of application and interpretation of results, resulting in their widespread use

Photosynthetic efficiency of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) seedlings in response to Ni and Cd stress

Abstract Perennial ryegrass is a grass species used to establish lawns in urban areas where pollution is a major environmental problems. Cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) contribute significantly to these pollutants and may cause photosynthetic limitation. The main objective of this work was to perform a comprehensive analysis of photosynthetic efficiency of perennial ryegrass seedlings under Cd and Ni stress. Some of the main indices of photosynthetic efficiency (prompt and delayed chlorophyll-a fluorescence signals and modulated reflectance at 820 nm) were compared with growth parameters. Two cultivars were tested: 'Niga' and 'Nira'. A decrease in photosystem (PS) II and PSI activity was observed. This was due to an increase in nonradiative dissipation of the PSII antenna, a decrease in PSII antenna size, or a decrease in the number of photosynthetic complexes with fully closed PSII RCs. Efficiency of electron transport was decreased. The effect on the modulated reflectance signal could indicate a restriction in electron flow from PSII to PSI. The correlation between photosynthetic efficiency parameters, such as Area, Fo, Fm, and Fv, and growth parameters, confirmed that some photosynthetic efficiency parameters can be used as indicators for early detection of heavy metal effects

Ecological risk assessment for land contaminated by petrochemical industry.

Contamination with harmful chemical substances, including organic compounds of the BTEX and PAH groups, constitutes one of the major threats to the functioning of soil habitat. Excessive contents of the above substances can exert adverse effects on soil organisms, reduce biodiversity, and thus deteriorate soil quality. The threat to soil ecosystems within areas particularly exposed to contamination with accumulating chemical compounds was assessed using the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) with a multi-stage Triad (triage rapid initial assessment) procedure (taking into account the different lines of evidence). The article presents the results of chemical and ecotoxicological study of soils sampled at sites affected by contamination from petrochemical industry. The study results provided foundations for developing the site specific ERA framework for the area examined