Abstract
We collected 50 subsamples of the moss Scleropodium purum from each of three sampling sites and determined the concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, K, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn in each subsample. We then calculated the number of subsamples required to determine significant differences in the mean concentrations of two sampling sites. We found that to differentiate between an uncontaminated sampling site and another, slightly contaminated site, 30 subsamples are required from each. On the basis of these results and because, to date, there are no studies that justify the application of the previously proposed recommendations, studies of local variability in other areas, and under different conditions, with other contaminants and moss species must be undertaken. For posterior comparison of data on variability as well as application of the recommendations associated with such results, the general use of a single definition of a subsample is required. We propose the following definition of a subsample: “1 g dry weight (approx.), collected within a 25-cm radius of a node, selected at random from a 1 × 1-m sampling grid placed in a sampling site.”
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Acknowledgments
The present study was partially financed by the CICYT (Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología), proyecto PPQ2000-0695, and the Consellería de Medio Ambiente (Xunta de Galicia), Proyecto Banco de Especimenes Ambientales de Galicia: 3ª Fase. The authors are especially grateful to Prof. Ph.D. Ricardo Cao, Department of Mathematics, University of Coruña, for his help in developing the U test. The authors are grateful to Luis Brandón, Montserrat Bravo, Paloma Chouciño, Sandra González, Mercedes Noya, and Alfonso Puñal for preparing the samples and carrying out the chemical analyses.
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Aboal, J.R., Couto, J.A., Fernández, J.A. et al. Definition and Number of Subsamples for Using Mosses as Biomonitors of Airborne Trace Elements. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 50, 88–96 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-005-7006-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-005-7006-9