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"Data on the annual production per area of mosses used as biomonitors is of major importance in the calculation of heavy metal depositionrates derived from concentration values. Therefore, annual biomass production per area was determined for Hylocomium splendens (127 +/- 61 gm-2 yr-1), Pleurozium schreberi (161 +/- 56 gm-2 yr-1), Hypnum cupressiforme (188 +/- 62 gm-2 yr-1) and Abientinella abietina (144 +/- 45 gm-2 yr-1) at 54 sites in Austria. Annual increments were detected by morphological criteria. Central European populations of mosses produce on average 10% (H. splendens) and 39% (P. schreberi) more biomass per area than populations from Northern Europe or Canada. Due to great differences in biomass production at various sites it is suggested calculating heavy metal deposition rates by using mean values only for larger areas and to take only data from accurate measurements of annual growth rates for the calculations of the depositions at single sites. A comparison between heavy metal concentrations (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) in H. cupressiforme and A. abietina showed comparable uptake efficiences for both mosses with somewhat higher values (quotient > 1) in H. cupressiforme.These results correspond with those obtained from other monitoring species (e.g. H. splendens). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the animal kingdom, a stunning variety of N-glycan structures have emerged with phylogenetic specificities of various kinds. In the plant kingdom, however, N-glycosylation appears to be strictly conservative and uniform. From mosses to all kinds of gymno- and angiosperms, land plants mainly express structures with the common pentasaccharide core substituted with xylose, core α1,3-fucose, maybe terminal GlcNAc residues and Lewis A determinants. In contrast, green algae biosynthesise unique and unusual N-glycan structures with uncommon monosaccharides, a plethora of different structures and various kinds of O -methylation. Mosses, a group of plants that are separated by at least 400 million years of evolution from vascular plants, have hitherto been seen as harbouring an N-glycosylation machinery identical to that of vascular plants. To challenge this view, we analysed the N-glycomes of several moss species using MALDI-TOF/TOF, PGC-MS/MS and GC-MS. While all species contained the plant-typical heptasaccharide with no, one or two terminal GlcNAc residues (MMXF, MGnXF and GnGnXF, respectively), many species exhibited MS signals with 14.02 Da increments as characteristic for O -methylation. Throughout all analysed moss N-glycans, the level of methylation differed strongly even within the same family. In some species, methylated glycans dominated, while others had no methylation at all. GC-MS revealed the main glycan from Funaria hygrometrica to contain 2,6- O -methylated terminal mannose. Some mosses additionally presented very large, likewise methylated complex-type N-glycans. This first finding of the methylation of N-glycans in land plants mirrors the presumable phylogenetic relation of mosses to green algae, where the O -methylation of mannose and many other monosaccharides is a common trait.

In recent decades, naturally growing mosses have been used successfully as biomonitors of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and nitrogen. Since 1990, the European moss survey has been repeated at five-yearly intervals. In 2010, the lowest concentrations of metals and nitrogen in mosses were generally found in northern Europe, whereas the highest concentrations were observed in (south-)eastern Europe for metals and the central belt for nitrogen. Averaged across Europe, since 1990, the median concentration in mosses has declined the most for lead (77%), followed by vanadium (55%), cadmium (51%), chromium (43%), zinc (34%), nickel (33%), iron (27%), arsenic (21%, since 1995), mercury (14%, since 1995) and copper (11%). Between 2005 and 2010, the decline ranged from 6% for copper to 36% for lead; for nitrogen the decline was 5%. Despite the Europe-wide decline, no changes or increases have been observed between 2005 and 2010 in some (regions of) countries., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Previous analyses at the European scale have shown that cadmium and lead concentrations in mosses are primarily determined by the total deposition of these metals. Further analyses in the current study show that Spearman rank correlations between the concentration in mosses and the deposition modelled by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) are country and metal-specific. Significant positive correlations were found for about two thirds or more of the participating countries in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005 (except for Cd in 1990). Correlations were often not significant and sometimes negative in countries where mosses were only sampled in a relatively small number of EMEP grids. Correlations frequently improved when only data for EMEP grids with at least three moss sampling sites per grid were included. It was concluded that spatial patterns and temporal trends agree reasonably well between lead and cadmium concentrations in mosses and modelled atmospheric deposition., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In 2005/6, nearly 3000 moss samples from (semi-)natural location across 16 European countries were collected for nitrogen analysis. The lowest total nitrogen concentrations in mosses (<0.8%) were observed in northern Finland and northern UK. The highest concentrations (≥ 1.6%) were found in parts of Belgium, France, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. The asymptotic relationship between the nitrogen concentrations in mosses and EMEP modelled nitrogen deposition (averaged per 50 km × 50 km grid) across Europe showed less scatter when there were at least five moss sampling sites per grid. Factors potentially contributing to the scatter are discussed. In Switzerland, a strong (r(2) = 0.91) linear relationship was found between the total nitrogen concentration in mosses and measured site-specific bulk nitrogen deposition rates. The total nitrogen concentrations in mosses complement deposition measurements, helping to identify areas in Europe at risk from high nitrogen deposition at a high spatial resolution., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

One monitoring station is insufficient to characterize the high spatial variation of traffic-related heavy metals within cities. We tested moss bags (Hylocomium splendens), deployed in a dense network, for the monitoring of metals in outdoor air and characterized metals' long-term spatial distribution and its determinants in Girona, Spain. Mosses were exposed outside 23 homes for two months; NO₂ was monitored for comparison. Metals were not highly correlated with NO₂ and showed higher spatial variation than NO₂. Regression models explained 61-85% of Cu, Cr, Mo, Pb, Sb, Sn, and Zn and 72% of NO₂ variability. Metals were strongly associated with the number of bus lines in the nearest street. Heavy metals are an alternative traffic-marker to NO₂ given their toxicological relevance, stronger association with local traffic and higher spatial variability. Monitoring heavy metals with mosses is appealing, particularly for long-term exposure assessment, as mosses can remain on site many months without maintenance., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In recent decades, mosses have been used successfully as biomonitors of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals. Since 1990, the European moss survey has been repeated at five-yearly intervals. Although spatial patterns were metal-specific, in 2005 the lowest concentrations of metals in mosses were generally found in Scandinavia, the Baltic States and northern parts of the UK; the highest concentrations were generally found in Belgium and south-eastern Europe. The recent decline in emission and subsequent deposition of heavy metals across Europe has resulted in a decrease in the heavy metal concentration in mosses for the majority of metals. Since 1990, the concentration in mosses has declined the most for arsenic, cadmium, iron, lead and vanadium (52-72%), followed by copper, nickel and zinc (20-30%), with no significant reduction being observed for mercury (12% since 1995) and chromium (2%). However, temporal trends were country-specific with sometimes increases being found., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The study uses measured and calculated data on airborne pollutants, particularly nitrogen (ranges between 28 to 43kgN*ha(-1)*yr(-1)) and sulphur (10 to 18kgSO(4)-S*ha(-1)*yr(-1)), in order to assess their long-term (1992 to 2005) effects on bryophytes at the UN-ECE Integrated Monitoring site 'Zöbelboden' in Austria. Bryophytes were used as reaction indicators on 20 epiphytic plots using the IM monitoring method and on 14 terrestrial plots using standardised photography. The plots were recorded in the years 1992, 1993, 1998, and 2004/2005. Most species remained stable in terms of their overall population size during the observed period, even though there were rapid turnover rates of a large percentage of species on all investigated plots. Only a few bryophytes (Hypnum cupressiforme, Leucodon sciuroides) responded unambiguously to N and S deposition. Nitrogen deposition had a weak but significant effect on the distribution of bryophyte communities. However, the time shifts in bryophyte communities did not depend on total deposition of N and S.

Sixty moss samples were taken along transects of nine roads in Austria. The concentrations of 17 elements in four moss species were determined. There was a high correlation between several elements like Cu/Sb (0.906), Ni/Co (0.897) or Cr/V (0.898), indicating a common traffic-related source. Enrichment factors were calculated, showing highest enrichment levels for: Cr, Mo, Sb, Zn, As, Fe, V, Cu, Ni, and Co. For these elements, road traffic has to be assumed as a source, which is confirmed by a significant negative correlation of the concentrations in mosses to the distance from the road for most of these metals. The rate of decrease followed a log-shaped curve at most of the investigated transects, although the decline cannot be explained by a single model. Multiple regression analysis highlighted traffic density, distance from and elevation of the road as the most influencing factors for the deposition of the investigated elements. Heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) and light duty vehicles (LDVs) showed different patterns. A comparison of sites likely to be influenced by traffic emissions with average values for the respective regions showed no significant differences for road distances of more than 250 m. Nevertheless, at heavily frequented roads, raised deposition of some elements was found even at a distance of 1,000 m.

The suitability of the two pleurocarpous mosses Pleurozium schreberi and Scleropodium purum for assessing spatial variation in nitrogen deposition was investigated. Sampling was carried out at eight sites in the western part of Germany with bulk deposition rates ranging between 6.5 and 18.5 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1). In addition to the effect of deposition on the nitrogen content of the two species, its influence on 15N natural abundance (delta15N values) and on productivity was examined. Annual increases of the mosses were used for all analyses. Significant relationships between bulk N deposition and nitrogen content were obtained for both species; delta15N-values reflected the ratio of NH4-N to NO3-N in deposition. A negative effect of nitrogen input on productivity, i.e. decreasing biomass per area with increasing N deposition due to a reduction of stem density, was particularly evident with P. schreberi. Monitoring of N deposition by means of mosses is considered an important supplement to existing monitoring programs. It makes possible an improved spatial resolution, and thus those areas that receive high loads of nitrogen are more easily discernible.