Testing different methods of estimating edaphic inputs in moss biomonitoring.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Biomonitoring
• Geochemistry

Background:

• Terrestrial moss biomonitoring is used for atmospheric element analysis.
• Existing protocols lack standardized methods to correct for soil element contributions.
• Inconsistent correction methods yield non-equivalent results in biomonitoring studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of three methods for correcting soil element contributions in moss biomonitoring.
• To determine if these methods produce equivalent results.
• To identify the most appropriate method for moss biomonitoring surveys.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of three soil correction methods: enrichment factor (EF), soil concentration subtraction (SCS), and positive matrix factorization (PMF).
• Analysis of 146 Pseudoscleropodium purum moss samples from Galicia, NW Spain.
• Evaluation of method equivalence and reliability in estimating soil contributions.

Main Results:

• While methods showed similar raw results, their interpretations differed significantly.
• None of the tested methods reliably estimated the soil's contribution to element concentrations in moss.
• Titanium (Ti) is not recommended as a reference element due to unusually high moss concentrations.

Conclusions:

• Current soil correction methods for moss biomonitoring are unreliable.
• Moss biomonitoring is best suited for elements with minimal soil contribution, such as Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), and Cadmium (Cd).
• Further research is needed to develop accurate soil correction techniques for atmospheric biomonitoring.