title: Atmospheric particulate matter intercepted by moss-bags: Relations to moss trace element uptake and land use.
abstract: Particulate matter has to be constantly monitored because it is an important atmospheric transport form of potentially harmful contaminants. The cost-effective method of the moss-bags can be employed to evaluate both loads and chemical composition of PM. PM entrapped by the moss Pseudoscleropodium purum exposed in bags in 9 European sites was characterized for number, size and chemical composition by SEM/EDX. Moreover, moss elemental uptake of 53 elements including rare earth elements was estimated by ICP-MS analysis. All above was aimed to find possible relations between PM profile and moss uptake and to find out eventual element markers of the different land use (i.e. agricultural, urban, industrial) of the selected sites. After exposure, about 12,000 particles, mostly within the inhalable fraction, were counted on P. purum leaves; their number generally increased from the agricultural sites to the urban and industrial ones. ICP analysis indicated that twenty-three elements were significantly accumulated by mosses with different element profile according to the various land uses. The PM from agricultural sites were mainly made of natural/crustal elements or derived from rural activities. Industrial-related PM covered a wider range of sources, from those linked to specific industrial activities, to those related to manufacturing processes or use of heavy-duty vehicles. This study indicates a close association between PM amount and moss element-uptake, which increases in parallel with PM amount. Precious metals and REEs may constitute novel markers of air pollution in urban and agricultural sites, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Ambiente (CIRAM), Università di Napoli Federico II, via Mezzocannone, 16, 80132 Napoli, Italy; Dipartimento di Agraria, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, NA, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Palma
authors.affiliation: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Ambiente (CIRAM), Università di Napoli Federico II, via Mezzocannone, 16, 80132 Napoli, Italy; Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia 4, 80126 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Fiore
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capozzi
authors.affiliation: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Ambiente (CIRAM), Università di Napoli Federico II, via Mezzocannone, 16, 80132 Napoli, Italy; Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia 4, 80126 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Spagnuolo
authors.affiliation: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Ambiente (CIRAM), Università di Napoli Federico II, via Mezzocannone, 16, 80132 Napoli, Italy; Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia 4, 80126 Napoli, Italy. Electronic address: giordano@unina.it.
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.affiliation: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Ambiente (CIRAM), Università di Napoli Federico II, via Mezzocannone, 16, 80132 Napoli, Italy; Dipartimento di Agraria, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, NA, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adamo
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D019068:Bryopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth / Q000032:analysis; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D014507:Urbanization
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008670:Metals; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth; D052638:Particulate Matter; D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Air pollution; Microanalysis; Moss biomonitoring; PM10; Pollution markers; Scanning electron microscope