Advances in air quality biomonitoring with the terrestrial moss Pseudoscleropodium purum

Terrestrial mosses are widely used to estimate the levels of contaminants in the atmosphere. The so-called “moss biomonitoring technique” was developed in the Nordic countries at the end of the 1960s as a means of studying the atmospheric deposition of heavy metals. Bryophytes are often considered as ideal organisms for use as biomonitors because of particular characteristics that confer them with a high cation exchange capacity, which enables them to capture and accumulate contaminants from atmospheric deposition. In addition, they can also retain particles (which become strongly bound to their tissues), they are widely distributed in various types of habitats, and they can be easily and inexpensively maintained in the laboratory. Use of the technique has spread to other European countries and rest of the world, and mosses have been used to estimate the levels of different types of contaminants. Despite all the research done during all of these years, further research on some aspects (methodological and ecophysiological) of the technique is still required to optimize the use of Pseudoscleropodium purum as a biomonitor

Selecting potential moss species for green roofs in the Mediterranean Basin

Green roofs are important infrastructures to address the e ects of climate change in urban areas. However, most studies and applications have been done in cooler and wetter regions of the northern hemisphere. Climate change will lead to more extreme weather events, such as increased drought and decreased precipitation with intense flash rain events. Increase desertification is expected especially in the Mediterranean Basin, where in summer, radiation and temperature are high and water is scarce. Therefore, while vascular plants increase water consumption in green roofs during warmer periods, mosses present themselves as potential candidates due to their poikilohydric nature, responding to the environmental availability of water, completely drying out and recovering upon rehydration. Although criteria for the selection of vascular plants adapted to the Mediterranean and suitable for green roofs have been developed, no information is available regarding the selection of mosses based on scientific criteria. Here we propose selection criteria for moss species based on ecological preferences according to Ellenberg’s values and help to define moss traits suitable for a nonirrigated, nature-based green roof that tolerates the Mediterranean climate. The main result is a table of potential candidate mosses that can be either used as standalone or in conjunction with vascular plants to decrease water usage and/or manage stormwater through an easily applicable selection methodology. For green roof practitioners, we proposed that acrocarpous mosses exhibiting turf/cushion life forms and colonist or perennial life strategies best fit the requirements for such a green infrastructure in extreme climate regions with scarce water resourcesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Testing different methods of estimating edaphic inputs in moss biomonitoring

Although soil is known to contribute to the concentrations of elements in moss, protocols for atmospheric biomonitoring with terrestrial moss do not include recommendations on how to address this factor. As a result, researchers indiscriminately use a wide range of detection/correction methods without considering whether the results are equivalent. In this study, three of these methods were compared: i) use of the enrichment factor (EF) index; ii) calculation of the ratios of different elements in soil and moss, and subtraction of the contribution of soil concentrations from the raw concentrations of elements in mosses (SCS); and iii) positive matrix factorization (PMF), a receptor modelling method for source apportioning based on multivariate analysis techniques. The aim of the comparison was to determine whether the methods produce equivalent results and, if not, which method is the most appropriate for use in moss biomonitoring surveys. The data used corresponded to 146 samples of Pseudoscleropodium purum collected from a regular sampling grid of 15 × 15 km in Galicia (NW Spain). Comparison of the methods revealed that, although they yield relatively similar results, the corresponding interpretations are not equivalent and none of the methods provides a reliable estimate of the soil contribution to the concentrations of elements in moss samples. Independently of the technique applied, use of Ti as a reference element is not recommended, because, at least in this study, it was present at unusually high levels in moss. Given the absence of a reliable correction method and the fact that most elements are present in fairly high amounts in the soil, we recommend using atmospheric biomonitoring with moss only for Cu, Zn and Cd, i.e. for those elements in moss for which the soil contributes very low amounts and corrections are not therefore necessaryThe authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC/GPC2016-002 and to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02) which are co-funded by FEDER (EU). Authors would like to thank RIAIDT-USC for the use of analytical facilities. P. Giráldez is grateful to the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades for a grant awarded within the Programa de Formacion de Profesorado Universitario (FPU 2018 [grant number FPU18/04134]). Z. Varela was supported by a postdoctoral research grant awarded by the Autonomous Government of Galicia (Spain)S

Levels of Antioxidant Compound Glutathione in Moss from Industrial Areas

Plants possess a wide range of cellular mechanisms that help them tolerate potentially toxic substances. Several studies that were carried out under laboratory conditions have demonstrated that the antioxidant compound glutathione plays a role in enabling mosses to tolerate high levels of heavy metals without toxic effects. However, until now, the antioxidant levels have not been studied in mosses under field conditions. In this study, we aimed to clarify the antioxidant concentrations of glutathione in the terrestrial moss Pseudoscleropodium purum growing in industrial environments characterised by high atmospheric levels of Cd, Ni, and Pb, and to evaluate the potential use of the compound as a biomarker. The results indicated the existence of a glutathione threshold response, which was significantly correlated with the metal toxicity and which may be influenced by metal bioavailability. Although future studies are needed to strengthen the findings, the present study suggests that total concentration of glutathione in P. purum could therefore be used as a biomarker in air pollution biomonitoring studies, provided that metal bioavailability is taken into accountThe authors of the Ecology Unit belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC/GPC2016-002 and to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02). All of these programmes are co-funded by FEDER (EU)S

Developing a Biotechnological Tool for Monitoring Water Quality: In Vitro Clone Culture of the Aquatic Moss Fontinalis Antipyretica

One of the main factors limiting active biomonitoring with aquatic mosses is the lack of sufficient material. A laboratory culture of the moss would solve this problem and thus convert the technique into a valuable biotechnological tool for monitoring water quality. With this aim, we first established small and large scale axenic in vitro culture systems for the aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica. We then attempted to enhance the growth rate of the cultures by modifying temperature, photoperiod and medium composition (N:P ratio, P concentration, CO2 supply, NH4NO3 supply and sucrose supply). None of these modifications greatly increased the in vitro growth rate. However, the growth rates were sufficiently high (relative to the initial weight of the cultures) in both systems (45 and 6 mg·day−1·g−1 for flasks and bioreactors respectively) to enable the production of large amounts of material. The ability to culture the material will substantially improve the applicability of the moss bag techniqueThis work was funded by MINECO project CTM2015-70578-P. The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC/GPC2016-002 and to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02). All of these programmes are co-funded by FEDER (EU)S

TEMPORAL TRENDS OF HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN BROWN MACROALGAE FROM COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS

Heavy metals are one of the major drivers of ecological changes in coastal ecosystems. Macroalgae are primary producers of great relevance for ecosystem structure and functioning in these environments, and play a key role in the trophic transfer of these contaminants in the food web. Here, we present the most extensive assessment until now (>3500 records) of heavy metal concentrations in brown macroalgae (Class Phaeophyceae) sampled between 1933 and 2020 worldwide. The study compiles this information from 420 peer reviewed articles to be used as a proxy of global long-term changes in metal concentrations. We report the first detailed multi-decadal time series of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb and Zn in algae using generalized additive models (GAMs), confirming a significant decrease in metal contamination in the world’s coastal environments since ca. the 1970s for Pb (84% reduction), Zn (79%), Cd (77%) and Cu (72%), since the 1980s for Mn (75%) and Hg (65%), and since the 1990s for Cr (66%), Fe (64%) and Co (60%). Important environmental consequences for the whole aquatic ecosystem, even for human health, may be expected from these changes. The present results provide a building block for the overall evaluation of the status and trends of marine metal contamination, and will help researchers and policy makers to promote new legal regulations and environmental goals against pollution

Mythbusters: unravelling the pollutant uptake processes in mosses for air quality biomonitoring

Terrestrial mosses have been used for more than 50 years to monitor air pollution. We argue, however, that their value as biomonitors is based on two widespread but partially erroneous assumptions concerning their morphological structure (the structural myth) and physicochemical characteristics (the physicochemical myth). The structural myth consists of the oversimplification of the moss morphological structure. The physicochemical myth recognizes their high cation exchange capacity (CEC) as the only pathway for pollutant uptake. Here, we gather and discuss the evidence demonstrating that these assumptions are misleading and focus the discussion on the aspects that make mosses good biomonitors of air pollution. First, we show that these plants (i) do have a cuticle, whose structure and composition differs among species, (ii) can have epidermal cells, that differ in shape and thickness from other cell types, (iii) have a vascular system, whose degree of development is lineage- and species-specific, and (iv) have rhizoids, that can absorb water, nutrients and pollutants. The effect of these traits in the pollutant uptake processes has been understudied in biomonitoring studies. Second, we show that mosses (i) do not concentrate as much pollutants as they could according to their high CEC, (ii) can retain large amounts of particles containing atmospheric pollutants in their surfaces, and (iii) in many contexts, the spatial structure of the concentrations of pollutants in mosses depicts the pattern expected for atmospherically deposited particles. Thus, the quality of these organisms as biomonitors of air pollution also lies in their high capacity to retain particles. We do call for more research on how moss structural and physiological traits affect pollutant uptake dynamics and recommend researchers using mosses as air quality biomonitors to face critically to inaccurate or insufficiently demonstrated assumptions in this contextThe research of J. M-A and E. N-O has been supported by the grant PGC2018-093824-B-C42 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”S

La extensión universitaria y el impacto pedagógico en los docentes

El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar brevemente, como surge la extensión universitaria en el tiempo y el contexto actual como un factor, que por un lado interpela a la universidad y demanda intervenciones concretas en contextos complejos. Y por el otro lado, como dicho contexto, desde un punto de vista macro, puede facilitar u obstaculizar el desarrollo de las actividades de extensión y la extensión misma, como parte de un proceso político a nivel nacional. Y, por el otro, su legitimación y curricularización en nuestras universidades. Y en este marco, entender dónde estamos parados los que hacemos extensión con respecto a la universidad. Diferencias y puntos en común entre extensión y voluntariado y finalmente, cómo impactó en el desarrollo personal y profesional en los docentes extensionistas, el haber participado en l proyecto de extensión “Juegos y Deportes para la inclusión vs. Trabajo infantil y adicciones” aprobado por la SPU, durante más de un año, en sus diferentes etapas.Mesa 2: Educación física y extensión.Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) - Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

La extensión universitaria y el impacto pedagógico en los docentes

El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar brevemente, como surge la extensión universitaria en el tiempo y el contexto actual como un factor, que por un lado interpela a la universidad y demanda intervenciones concretas en contextos complejos. Y por el otro lado, como dicho contexto, desde un punto de vista macro, puede facilitar u obstaculizar el desarrollo de las actividades de extensión y la extensión misma, como parte de un proceso político a nivel nacional. Y, por el otro, su legitimación y curricularización en nuestras universidades. Y en este marco, entender dónde estamos parados los que hacemos extensión con respecto a la universidad. Diferencias y puntos en común entre extensión y voluntariado y finalmente, cómo impactó en el desarrollo personal y profesional en los docentes extensionistas, el haber participado en l proyecto de extensión “Juegos y Deportes para la inclusión vs. Trabajo infantil y adicciones” aprobado por la SPU, durante más de un año, en sus diferentes etapas.Mesa 2: Educación física y extensión.Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) - Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

La extensión universitaria y el impacto pedagógico en los docentes

El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar brevemente, como surge la extensión universitaria en el tiempo y el contexto actual como un factor, que por un lado interpela a la universidad y demanda intervenciones concretas en contextos complejos. Y por el otro lado, como dicho contexto, desde un punto de vista macro, puede facilitar u obstaculizar el desarrollo de las actividades de extensión y la extensión misma, como parte de un proceso político a nivel nacional. Y, por el otro, su legitimación y curricularización en nuestras universidades. Y en este marco, entender dónde estamos parados los que hacemos extensión con respecto a la universidad. Diferencias y puntos en común entre extensión y voluntariado y finalmente, cómo impactó en el desarrollo personal y profesional en los docentes extensionistas, el haber participado en l proyecto de extensión “Juegos y Deportes para la inclusión vs. Trabajo infantil y adicciones” aprobado por la SPU, durante más de un año, en sus diferentes etapas.Mesa 2: Educación física y extensión.Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) - Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació