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Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals in Wuxi, China: estimation based on native moss analysis

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 188, Article number: 360 (2016) Cite this article

Abstract

We studied atmospheric deposition of heavy metals in Wuxi, China, using moss (Haplocladium microphyllum and H. angustifolium) as a biomonitoring agent. Moss samples were collected from 49 sites determined by a systematic sampling method. The top layer of soil on each site was also sampled. No significant correlation (P < 0.05) was observed between the moss and soil concentrations for any of the six heavy metal elements (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn), indicating that the soil substrate had little effect on the heavy metal concentrations in the moss materials. The metal enrichment capacity of the moss material, characterized by the concentration ratio between the moss and soil samples for each heavy metal, was topped by Cd and then followed by Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, and Ni, respectively. Significant (P < 0.05) correlations were found among the six elements in mosses, suggesting potential anthropogenic inputs of these heavy metal pollutants. Based on concentrations of the heavy metals in mosses and the calculated contamination factors, we evaluated the contamination level of each heavy metal on the 49 sampling sites. Spatial distribution maps of heavy metal deposition for each element were interpolated using ArcGIS 9.0. A total pollution coefficient was calculated for each sampling site to identify the seriously polluted areas in the region.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu High Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Affiliations

  1. Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Rd., Nanjing, 210037, China

    Yun Yan, Qiang Zhang, G. Geoff Wang & Yan-Ming Fang

  2. Department of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, 261 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA

    G. Geoff Wang

  3. Jiangsu Misho Ecology Landscape Co., Ltd, Wuxi, Lake District, 214125, China

    Yun Yan

Authors
  1. Yun Yan
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  2. Qiang Zhang
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  3. G. Geoff Wang
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  4. Yan-Ming Fang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to G. Geoff Wang or Yan-Ming Fang.

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Yan, Y., Zhang, Q., Wang, G.G. et al. Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals in Wuxi, China: estimation based on native moss analysis. Environ Monit Assess 188, 360 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5315-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5315-2

Keywords

  • Moss
  • Heavy metal
  • Atmospheric pollution
  • Biomonitoring
  • Spatial distribution