S.TR.E.A.M., system for trace element assessment with mosses. An equation to estimate mercury concentration in...

Hundred experiments of Hg bioaccumulation with the aquatic moss Rhynchostegium riparioides (Hedw.) C.E.O. Jensen transplanted under laboratory conditions were carried out with the aim of (1) measuring the metal uptake at increasing water concentrations (0.25-128 microg Hg(2+)L(-1)) and increasing exposure time (24-189 h), (2) studying the influence of pH (6.3-8.5) and water concentration of Na (3-114 mg L(-1)), Ca (62-125 mg L(-1)) and Mg (13-54 mg L(-1)) on the metal uptake, (3) achieving a database for mathematical and statistical elaborations, and, (4) producing an equation modelling the uptake. A linear uptake was observed for water concentrations 0.05) in the Hg uptake ratio (0.496x10(5)