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Journal ArticleDOI

Bryophytes and heavy metals: a literature review

Germund Tyler1
01 Sep 1990-Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (Blackwell Publishing Ltd)-Vol. 104, Iss: 1, pp 231-253
TL;DR: The literature on heavy metals in bryophytes is reviewed, including mechanisms of metal uptake, retention, toxicity and tolerance and interspecies differences in particular are discussed, including the development of extreme tolerance encountered in certain taxa.
About: This article is published in Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.The article was published on 1990-09-01. It has received 294 citations till now.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review paper will present the most recent results, especially those that are concerned withpolysaccharide level, composition and distribution under trace metal stress, and describe in detail the polysaccharides responsible for metal binding and immobilization in different groups of plants (algae and higher plants).
Abstract: This review paper is focused predominantly on the role of the cell wall in the defense response of plants to trace metals. It is generally known that this compartment accumulates toxic divalent and trivalent metal cations both during their uptake by the cell from the environment and at the final stage of their sequestration from the protoplast. However, from results obtained in recent years, our understanding of the role played by the cell wall in plant defense response to toxic metals has markedly altered. It has been shown that this compartment may function not only as a sink for toxic trace metal accumulation, but that it is also actively modified under trace metal stress. These modifications lead to an increase in the capacity of the cell wall to accumulate trace metals and a decrease of its permeability for trace metal migration into the protoplast. One of the most striking alterations is the enhancement of the level of low-methylesterified pectins: the polysaccharides able to bind divalent and trivalent metal ions. This review paper will present the most recent results, especially those that are concerned with polysaccharide level, composition and distribution under trace metal stress, and describe in detail the polysaccharides responsible for metal binding and immobilization in different groups of plants (algae and higher plants). The review also contains information related to the entry pathways of trace metals into the cell wall and their detection methods.

523 citations


Cites background from "Bryophytes and heavy metals: a lite..."

  • ...2003) and homogalacturonans (HGA) in higher plants, both Bryophytes (Tyler 1990) and vascular plants (Dronnet et al....

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  • ...There are alginates in algae (Davis et al. 2003) and homogalacturonans (HGA) in higher plants, both Bryophytes (Tyler 1990) and vascular plants (Dronnet et al. 1996; Kartel et al. 1999; Fritz 2007; Pelloux et al. 2007; Caffall and Mohnen 2009)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The discussion points towards more explicit coupling of biomonitoring data to knowledge and databases on both emission registration, ecosystem performance and human health, which means that multidisciplinary programs should be set up, which accommodate expert inputs from biomoniting, emission control programs, analytical chemistry, ecology, and epidemiology.

337 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of NOx emissions from traffic on moss tissue N was investigated and the results indicated that the two main atmospheric sources, NOx and NHx, have different δ15N signatures, the former tending to be positive and the latter negative.
Abstract: Mosses have been used as biomonitors of atmospheric pollution for some years, but few studies have been carried out on the effect of NOx emissions from traffic on moss tissue N. Eight species of moss (102 samples) growing on walls or roofs next to roads exposed to different traffic densities were collected from urban and rural sites in the UK. The shoots were sampled for total N, their stable isotope 15N/14N content (δ15N) and heavy metal content (Pb, Zn). There was a lack of correlation between tissue total N and traffic exposure, but a very good correlation between traffic exposure and tissue δ15N. Plants collected near motorways or busy urban roads had δ15N values ranging between +6 and −1‰, while in rural areas with hardly any traffic these ranged from −2 to −12‰. In a separate survey of mosses, the average δ15N of shoots from busy roadsides in London was +3.66‰, whereas from samples collected from farm buildings near poultry or cattle pens it was −7.8‰. This indicates that the two main atmospheric N sources, NOx and NHx, have different δ15N signatures, the former tending to be positive and the latter negative. Tissue concentrations of both Pb and Zn show a strong positive correlation with traffic exposure, with Zn in particular being greater than Pb. The results are discussed with regard to the use of moss tissue Zn as a means for monitoring or mapping pollution from vehicles, and of δ15N as an aid to distinguish between urban (NOx) and rural (NHx) forms of N pollution.

196 citations


Cites background from "Bryophytes and heavy metals: a lite..."

  • ...of these species are pollution-sensitive and of value only for presence or absence studies (Gilbert, 1968; Tyler 1990)....

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  • ...As epilithic species are especially reliant on the atmosphere for their N uptake (Tyler, 1990; Steinnes et al., 1994; Soares & Pearson, 1997), we hypothesized that these would be good indicators for atmospheric NOx pollution and that total N in shoot tissue would be correlated with exposure to traffic density or flow....

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  • ...However, these groups of species are often absent from the urban environment, or are of limited value for this kind of work in towns and cities where a good deal of the pollution from traffic occurs (Goodman & Roberts, 1971; Ross, 1990; Tyler, 1990)....

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  • ...of these species are pollution-sensitive and of value only for presence or absence studies (Gilbert, 1968; Tyler 1990). Goodman & Roberts (1971) referred to the 'moss desert' of Swansea city centre, and they resorted to transplants of H....

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  • ...With the exception of the aquatic and semiaquatic mosses, nearly all mosses rely on the atmosphere for most of their nutrients (Tyler, 1990; Steinnes et al., 1994; Soares & Pearson, 1997), although there is some debate as to the proportion of uptake of nutrients by grassland mosses from the substratum (Bates, 1992)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A simple procedure for estimating more plausible background values that consists of subtracting the substratum contribution from raw concentrations of elements in mosses is reported.

191 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A summary is given of recent laboratory work on the internal redistribution of elements in Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus and of field experiments involving fertilizer addition to Pseudoscleropodium purum; their significance is assessed.

182 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
R. S. Clymo1
TL;DR: The kinetics of cation exchange are consistent with a heterogeneous exchange phase containing regions of high charge density and regions with lower charge density, and at equilibrium the proportions of different cations in the exchange phase are largely explicable by a Donnan distribution.

431 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
04 Jun 1971-Nature
TL;DR: Metal concentrations downwind of the Swansea urban-industrial complex are found to be significantly greater than the normal background.
Abstract: Simple techniques have been used to monitor the non-ferrous metal content of the air in South-West Wales. Metal concentrations downwind of the Swansea urban-industrial complex are found to be significantly greater than the normal background.

345 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1970-Oikos
TL;DR: The capacity of Hylocomium splendens to sorb heavy metal ions from dilute solutions was studied in this article, and the sorption and retention generally followed the order: Cu, Pb > Ni > Co > Zn, Mn.
Abstract: The capacity of Hylocomium splendens to sorb heavy metal ions from dilute solutions was studied. The sorption and retention generally followed the order: Cu, Pb > Ni > Co > Zn, Mn. This order proved valid within a wide range of concentrations and independently whether the ions were supplied in pure or mixed solutions. The capacity of the moss tissues to sorb traces of Cu and Pb in the presence of comparatively large amounts of Ca, K, Mg, and Na was found to be very great. This makes it probable that these ions, supplied with the precipitation, are almost quantitatively sorbed by the moss carpets. A large share of Ni when present in precipitation, will also possibly be sorbed. A natural carpet of Hylocomium splendens showed a continuous uptake of Mn, Fe, and Ca from young to old tissues, whereas the increase in the concentrations of minor heavy metals was balanced by the dry matter decrease through decomposition. The developing and mature mor layer below the moss carpet had not enriched heavy metals above the concentrations of the old moss tissues.

302 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, maps showing the regional differences in the atmospheric deposition of Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Fe have been prepared for Finland, Norway and Sweden from data obtained by means of moss analysis, a method previously shown to be a sensitive and reliable tool in measuring heavy metal deposition.
Abstract: Maps showing the regional differences in the atmospheric deposition of Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Fe have been prepared for Finland, Norway and Sweden from data obtained by means of moss analysis, a method previously shown to be a sensitive and reliable tool in measuring heavy metal deposition. In all elements the minima were recorded in northern Norway, the maxima in south-central or south-western Sweden and southernmost Norway. The greatest regional differences were measured in Pb and Cd.

206 citations