Abstract
This study was carried out in order to assess both the deposition of heavy metal and nitrogen in a mountain ecosystem with low levels of metal deposition and its possible interactions with factors such as lithology and topography. For this purpose, samples of Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. and topsoils were collected in a forest catchment within Bertiz Natural Park, an International Cooperative Programme on Integrated Monitoring site. Trace metals levels in mosses can be considered low compared with values reported elsewhere in Europe, and the dust soil mineral particles seemed to be the main source of these values. Only Cd and Hg presented external inputs, probably with an anthropic origin, for mosses according to the enrichment factor values, whereas historical pollution-related deposition in soils was determined for Pb, Cu, and Ni, attending to their total/extractable ratio.
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Acknowledgements
This study was carried out within the project “Integrated monitoring study in a Pyrenaic forest basin” supported by the Foundation of the University of Navarra (FUNA), Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP), and the CAN Foundation. During this study, Laura González-Miqueo was recipient of a Ph.D. Fellowship granted by the Department of Education of the Government of Navarra.
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González-Miqueo, L., Elustondo, D., Lasheras, E. et al. Heavy Metal and Nitrogen Monitoring Using Moss and Topsoil Samples in a Pyrenean Forest Catchment. Water Air Soil Pollut 210, 335–346 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0256-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0256-9