Abstract
Lichen species Platismatia glauca and moss species Meiothecium microcarpum were used as bio-indicator for heavy metals pollutants of anthropogenic origins. These species are found to grow extensively and abundantly on the stems and branches of tea plant in the study area. The elemental analyses of heavy metals were carried out using Energy Dispersive X-rays Fluorescence Technique (EDXRF). Results showed that the mean concentration of the metals can be arranged in decreasing order as Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > Cd > As > Ni for lichen and Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cr > Cd > As for moss. Analysis of pollution based on anthropogenic factor (AF) indicated that only Cd shows slightly polluted, and Zn potentially polluted. However, the mean pollution impact based on pollution index (PI) shows a value of 0.38 and 0.29 for lichen and moss respectively, indicating the impact is still low. The sources of the two important metals, Cd and Zn can be traced to solid waste disposal, fossil fuel burning and application of phosphate fertilizers, which are the peculiar anthropogenic activities of the area.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abdullah MZ, Saat A, Hamzah Z (2011) Optimization of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to analyze heavy metals in moss samples. Am J Eng Appl Sci 4(3):355–362. ISSN 1941-7020
Abdullah MZ, Saat A, Hamzah Z (2012) Assessment of the impact of petroleum and petrochemical industries to the surrounding areas in Malaysia using mosses as bioindicator supported by multivariate analysis. Environ Monit Assess 184:3959–3969. doi:10.1007/s10661-011-2236-y
Abu Bakar NS, Mahmood ZUW, Saat A (2013) Assessment of 210Po deposition in moss species and soil around coal-fired power plant. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 295:315–323. doi:10.1007/s10967-012-1917-5
Adamu CI, Nganje TN (2010) Heavy metal contamination of surface soil in relationship to land use pattern: a case study of Benue state, Nigeria. Mater Sci Appl 1:127–134
Bajpai R, Mishra GK, Upreti DK, Nayaka S (2011) Determination of atmospheric heavy metals using two lichen species in Katni and Rewa cities, India. J Environ Biol 32:195–199. ISSN 0254-8704
Barandovski L, Cekova M, Frontasyeva MV, Pavlov S, Stafilov T, Steinnes E, Uramov V (2008) Atmospheric deposition of trace element pollutants in macedonia studied by the moss biomonitoring technique. Environ Monit Assess 138:107–118
Deng HG, Gu TF, Li MH, Deng X (2012) Comprehensive assessment model on heavy metal pollution in soil. Int J Electrochem Sci 7:5286–5296
Dragovic S, Mihailovic N (2009) Analysis of mosses and topsoil for detecting sources of heavy metal pollution: multivariate and enrichment factor analysis. Environ Monit Assess 157:383–390. doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0543-8
Hamzah Z, Saat A, Wood AK, Abu Bakar Z (2011) Sedimentation, heavy metals profiles and cluster analysis of a former tin mining lake. Int J Environ Sci Dev 2(6):448–453
Lucaciu A, Timorte L, Culicov O, Fronyasyeva MV, Oprea C, Cucu-Man S, Mocanu R, Steinnes E (2004) Atmospheric deposition of trace elements in romania studied by the moss biomonitoring technique. J Atmos Chem 49:533–548
Ugur A, Ozden B, Sac MM, Yener G (2003) Biomonitoring of 210Po and 210Pb using lichen and mosses around a uraniferous coal-fired power plant in Western Turkey. Atmos Environ 37:2237–2245
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this paper
Cite this paper
Saat, A., Hamzah, Z., Wood, A.K., Talib, M., Harun, N. (2014). Heavy Metals in Lichens and Mosses of a Tea Plantation in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. In: Aris, A., Tengku Ismail, T., Harun, R., Abdullah, A., Ishak, M. (eds) From Sources to Solution. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-70-2_37
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-70-2_37
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-4560-69-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-4560-70-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)