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The effects of experimentally supplied lead nitrate on three common Mediterranean moss species

  • (E)merging directions on air pollution and climate change research in Mediterranean Basin ecosystems
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Abstract

We assess here, through an experimental simulation using lead nitrate, the response to lead deposition of three common Mediterranean bryophyte species in the family Pottiaceae. Five concentrations of lead nitrate (from 0 to 10−3 M) were sprayed for 4 months on plants belonging to Tortula muralis (reported as toxitolerant), Syntrichia ruralis (medium-tolerant), and Tortula subulata (less tolerant). The three species showed a remarkably high tolerance to lead nitrate, with a low incidence of damage even at concentrations as high as 10−4 M. The maximum concentration (10−3 M), although resulting eventually in serious damages in the gametophyte of the three species (high mortality rates in S. ruralis and T. subulata, or a significant percentage of damaged tissue in T. muralis), did not prevent the production of sporophytes in the two species with fertile samples (T. muralis and T. subulata). Growth parameters show limited value as bioindicators of lead deposition, as they only show clear effects at very high concentrations. Besides, we identified the existence of a lead exclusion strategy mediated by mucilage using histochemical analyses and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. This mechanism can hamper the usefulness of these mosses in quantitative estimation of lead deposition.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Esperanza Salvador and Enrique Rodríguez (SEM-EDX Laboratory, SIdI, UAM), the collectors of Cephaloziella rubella, and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. Biología, Fac. Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Jennifer Cogolludo, Belén Estébanez & Nagore G. Medina

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  1. Jennifer Cogolludo
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  2. Belén Estébanez
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  3. Nagore G. Medina
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Correspondence to Nagore G. Medina.

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Cogolludo, J., Estébanez, B. & Medina, N.G. The effects of experimentally supplied lead nitrate on three common Mediterranean moss species. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 26194–26205 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9220-1

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