Toward the adoption of a shared protocol in the moss bag approach: main outcomes from the MOSSclone project.
Dipartimento di Biologia, Università Federico II, Campus Monte S. Angelo, Via Cinthia 4, 80126 Napoli, Italy
The FP7 European project “MOSSclone”, aimed at the standardization of the moss-bags approach for biomonitoring of atmospheric pollution, was subdivided into two main objectives: 1) the selection, cloning and growth of a moss species showing a higher bioaccumulation performance; 2) the optimization and standardization of exposure conditions. Sphagnum palustre L. was selected, cloned, chemically and genetically tagged, and grown in a bioreactor. Parallelly, the native moss Pseudoscleropodium purum Hedw. was tested in a systematic experimental design in three European Countries. The investigated characteristics were the shape of the bags, mesh size, moss density with respect to bag surface, exposure height and duration. The shape, the mesh size of the bags and the exposure height did not significantly influence the uptake capacity of the transplanted moss. The aspects more affecting the element uptake were represented by the density (<15mg cm-2) of the moss inside the bags and the duration of exposure, that should not be shorter than 6 weeks. A field experiment was settled to compare the uptake performance of the S. palustre clone with the moss P. purum, both exposed in the same conditions inside the Mossphere© a reusable bag developed by the MOSSclone research team.The test was performed in urban, industrial, agricultural and background areas of Italy and Spain. Among the eighteen elements analyzed, S. palustre was significantly enriched in 10 elements (Al, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, Sr, V and Zn), while P. purum was enriched only in 6 elements (Al, Ba, Cu, Hg, Pb and Sr), and had a consistently lower uptake capacity than the first. The clone proved to be more sensitive in terms of metal uptake and showed a better performance as a bioaccumulator, providing a higher signal and allowing a finer distinction among the different land uses and levels of pollution. The clone represents a preferable choice for its accumulation performance, as well as for its eco-sustainability. The MOSSclone project identified the key points of the method, improving the sensitivity and reliability of this approach. We sustain the adoption of a shared protocol in the moss bag approach, balancing eco-sustainability with optimal performances.
Keywords:
