title: Active moss biomonitoring for extensive screening of urban air pollution: Magnetic and chemical analyses.
abstract: In this study, active magnetic biomonitoring of moss for particulate air pollution and an assessment of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were performed for the entire metropolitan area of Belgrade. Two mosses, Sphagnum girgensohnii (a species of the most recommended biomonitoring moss genus) and Hypnum cupressiforme (a common moss in the study area), were used. During the summer of 2013, moss bags were exposed at 153 sampling sites, forming a dense network of sites. A type II regression model was applied to test the interchangeable use of the two moss species. Significantly higher levels of all measured pollutants were recorded by S. girgensohnii in comparison with H. cupressiforme. Based on the results, the mosses could not be interchangeably used in urban areas, except for the biomonitoring of Cu. Nevertheless, according to the relative accumulation factors obtained for both moss species, similar city zones related to high, moderate and low levels of air pollution were distinguished. Moreover, new pollution hotspots, omitted by regulatory monitoring, were identified. The results demonstrate that moss magnetic analysis represents an effective first step for obtaining an overview of particulate air pollution before more expensive chemical analyses. Active moss biomonitoring could be applied as a pragmatic approach for optimizing the representativeness of regulatory monitoring networks.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, University of Belgrade, Pregrevica 118, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vuković
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, University of Belgrade, Pregrevica 118, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: mira.anicic@ipb.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Mira Aničić
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Urošević
authors.affiliation: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot Curie 6, 141980 Dubna, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: Zoya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Goryainova
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Miodrag
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pergal
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Škrivanj
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio-science Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Roeland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samson
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Popović
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D000397:Air Pollution; D044002:Bryophyta / Q000737:chemistry*; D019068:Bryopsida / Q000737:chemistry; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D060328:Magnetic Phenomena; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D044003:Sphagnopsida / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: H. cupressiforme; Heavy metals; PAHs; S. girgensohnii; Saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM)