Chemosphere xxx (2016) 1e6

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Chemosphere
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Trace elements in native and transplanted Fontinalis antipyretica and

Platyhypnidium riparioides from rivers polluted by uranium mining
Grzegorz Kosior a, Eiliv Steinnes b, Aleksandra Samecka-Cymerman a, *,

o

czuk-Sr

dka c,
Syverin Lierhagen b, Krzysztof Kolon a, 1, Agnieszka Dohan
c
Zbigniew Ziembik
a
b
c

Department of Ecology, Biogeochemistry, and Environmental Protection, University of Wrocaw, ul. Kanonia 6/8, 50-328, Wrocaw, Poland
Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway
Independent Chair of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, Opole University, ul. Kardynaa B. Kominka 6, 45-032, Opole, Poland

h i g h l i g h t s

As, Ba, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ti, U, Zn in mosses reect their level in uranium mine sewages.

Native mosses contained higher metal levels than transplants in more polluted streams.

In less polluted sites reverse situation was observed.

Bioindication in extremely polluted sites may be miscalculated using transplants.

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 31 July 2016
Received in revised form
22 October 2016
Accepted 30 October 2016
Available online xxx

The past uranium/polymetallic mining activities in the Sudety (SW Poland) left abandoned mines, pits,
and dumps of waste rocks with trace elements and radionuclides which may erode or leach out and
create a potential risk for the aquatic ecosystem, among others. In the present work four rivers affected
by efuents from such mines were selected to evaluate the application of aquatic mosses for the bioindication of 56 elements. Naturally growing F. antipyretica and P. riparioides were compared with
transplanted samples of the same species. The results demonstrate serious pollution of the examined
rivers, especially with As, Ba, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ti, U and Zn, reaching extremely high concentrations in native
moss samples. In the most polluted rivers native F. antipyretica and P. riparioides samples showed
signicantly higher concentrations of As, Ba, Cu, Fe, La, Nd, Ni, Pb, U and Zn than corresponding transplanted samples, whereas at less polluted sites a reverse situation was sometimes observed. Transplanted moss moved from clean to extremely polluted rivers probably protects itself against the
accumulation of toxic elements by reducing their uptake. Selection of native or transplanted
F. antipyretica and P. riparioides depended on the pollution load.
2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Handling Editor: Martine Leermakers

Keywords:
Aquatic mosses
Pollution
Metals
Bioindicator
Transplant
Rivers
Sudety

1. Introduction
The Sudety mountain range (SW Poland) is characterized by its

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: grzegorz.kosior@uwr.edu.pl (G. Kosior), eiliv.steinnes@ntnu.
no (E. Steinnes), aleksandra.samecka-cymerman@uwr.edu.pl (A. Samecka
o

czuk-Sr

dka), ziembik@uni.opole.pl
Cymerman), agna@uni.opole.pl (A. Dohan
(Z. Ziembik).
1
Dr. Krzysztof Kolon, our sincere, reliable and irreplaceable friend and coauthor
passed away.

mosaic-like pattern of different geological units. Within these units,

various types of mineralization occur (Marszaek and Wa sik, 2000;
Kryza and Pin, 2010). These include ore deposits and ore mineral
occurrences of As, Au, Ag, Bi, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, S, Sb, Se, Sn,
Th, U, W, Zn, and REE, which were extracted over centuries
(Mochnacka et al., 2015). Among others, polymetallic/uranium
exploration and mining activities occurred in Kowary as well as in a
uorite deposit in Kletno where polymetallic mineralization
including uranium occurs (Mochnacka and Bana
s, 2000;
Kaszubkiewicz and Kawako, 2009; Fijakowska-Lichwa, 2014). After the mines were abandoned in the 1960s, water has still been

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.131
0045-6535/ 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article in press as: Kosior, G., et al., Trace elements in native and transplanted Fontinalis antipyretica and Platyhypnidium
riparioides from rivers polluted by uranium mining, Chemosphere (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.131

G. Kosior et al. / Chemosphere xxx (2016) 1e6

leaking from the sites, and remains of once mined uranium ores,
such as abandoned pits and dumps of waste rocks, may lead to
erosion and leaching of trace elements and radionuclides and
pollution of aquatic ecosystems (Grabas, 2009; Pala et al., 2013;
Ciszewski et al., 2014). In such environments, mosses are important members of nutrient webs (Rau et al., 2007). These plants have
an ability to accumulate various xenobiotics and thus reect their
level in the geochemical environment (Vincent et al., 2001; Kos
et al., 2010). The pioneering investigations on biogeochemical
prospecting utilizing bryophytes carried on by Whitehead and
Brooks (1969), Brooks (1971), Shacklette and Erdman (1982), and
later Samecka-Cymerman (1994), Samecka-Cymerman and Kempers (1992, 1993, 1994) showed that mosses may dene mineralization more precisely than analyses of water or bottom sediments.
These authors found a relation between the concentration of
metals in aquatic bryophytes and arsenic, barite, uorite, and polymetallic mineralization areas in the Polish and Czech Sudety
mountains. Mosses are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, stationary, long living, and available all year, with capacity
to trap xenobiotics and relative tolerance to contamination
(Martins et al., 2004; Daz et al., 2013). The aquatic mosses Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw. and Platyhypnidium riparioides (Hedw.)
Dixon selected for the present investigation have these capabilities
and were used as bioindicators in many studies (Carballeira and

pez, 1997; Carballeira et al., 1998; Va

zquez et al., 2000; Cesa
Lo
et al., 2010; Gapeeva et al., 2010; Mechora et al., 2012; Daz et al.,
2013; Kosior et al., 2015). Both species are euryecious with an
ability to characterise the quality of contaminant-affected water



-Alvaro
(Garca
et al., 2000). Thus, the concentration of e.g. metals or
radionuclides in their tissues may indicate the level of environ
zquez
mental risk caused by pollution (Ceschina et al., 2012; Va
et al., 2013). In environmental control native mosses may be used
as passive biomonitors but also as transplants in cases where native
z and Carballeira, 2000). According to
species are absent (Fern

ande
these authors, plants have the ability to adapt to certain environmental conditions. Therefore, in the present work, native and
transplanted F. antipyretica and P. riparioides were compared as to
their capability to accumulate trace elements from rivers affected
by leakage from uranium mines. The tested hypotheses were: 1)
native aquatic F. antipyretica and P. riparioides exposed to polluted
rivers is able to accumulate smaller amounts of trace elements than
the species transplanted from a site relatively free from pollution;
2) F. antipyretica accumulates greater amounts of trace metals than
P. riparioides when growing in the same river.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Sampling design
In polymetallic/uranium-rich bedrock sites in the Sudety
mountains (Fig. 1), four rivers were selected in which autochthonous F. antipyretica occurred naturally together with P. riparioides as
tufts totally submerged and immersed throughout the year (Cesa
et al., 2010). Excavations after the extraction of polymetallic deposits, including uranium, penetrate and collect most of the underground inltration water over large areas. A constant outow of
mine water is observed at the outlets of some tunnels. Below such
outlets sampling sites for this investigation were selected. These
were sites in two rivers in the vicinity of Kowary: Jedlica (no. 1e5)
and Jelenia Struga (no. 6e10), in the Kle
snica river in the vicinity of
Kletno (no. 11e15) and in the Kamienica river in the vicinity of a
village of Kamienica (no. 16e20). The control site was situated in

zquez et al., 2004), which is
the Kwisa spring area (Fig. 1) (Va
relatively free from pollution. In each river, ve sampling sites
located within 500 m downstream from the source of mine

efuents were selected, and green parts of gametophytes were

collected in 5 replicates. Collected moss samples were washed
carefully in river water to clean them from attached inorganic
particles and invertebrates.
We did not measure concentration of elements in water. As
shown by Whitehead and Brooks (1969), Brooks (1971), Shacklette
and Erdman (1982), as well as our previous studies (SameckaCymerman, 1994; Samecka-Cymerman and Kempers, 1992, 1993,
1994) aquatic mosses are able to accumulate trace elements proportionally to their concentrations in water and thus serve as a
means to study elements in the aquatic environment that would
otherwise remain undetected.
2.2. Experimental
Moss samples for transplantation (green gametophyte parts)
were placed in 1 L nylon mesh bags (mesh size 2 mm), and transplanted in 5 replicates to each of the 20 monitoring sites described
above. F. antipyretica and P. riparioides were collected for analysis
after 30 days of experiment. This time was long enough, as mosses
are able to accumulate trace elements over a short time (Cenci,
2000).
2.3. Chemical analyses
Native and transplanted moss samples were homogenized in an
IKA Labortechnik M20 laboratory mill and then dried at 50  C to a
constant weight. According to Lodenius et al. (2003) this temperature is low enough to prevent loss of Hg. 300 mg of dry moss
weight was digested in triplicate with 3 mL of 65% of ultra-pure
nitric acid and 2 mL of 70% of ultra-pure perchloric acid in a microwave (MARS5 CEN Corporation). The samples were then diluted
with deionized water to a total volume of 50 mL, and the digests
were analyzed for 56 elements: Al, Ag, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Ce,
Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Dy, Er, Fe, Ga, Ge, Hf, Hg, Ho, In, Ir, La, Li, Lu, Mn, Mo,
Nb, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Pt, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Si, Sm, Sn, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm,
U, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn, and Zr by inductively-coupled plasma mass
spectrometry using a Finnegan Element sector eld instrument.
The sample solutions were diluted 5.5 times on-line with a prepFAST system before entering the plasma. The absence of matrix
interferences was veried by means of an internal standard added
to the sample solution. Possible errors due to mass overlap were
avoided by running the samples in a medium-resolution or highresolution mode for elements whenever this could be a problem.
Data accuracy was checked by simultaneous analysis of international moss reference standards (Steinnes et al., 1997). The concentrations of Ag, Sn, Ir, and Pt in some samples were below the
detection limits (0.15, 0.05; 0.0001; 0.0005 mg L1, respectively).
Certied reference materials: moss M2 and M3 from the Finnish
Forest research institute (Steinnes et al., 1997) were used for evaluating analytical accuracy.
Activity concentrations of gamma-emitting radionuclides in
selected moss samples were determined using a gammaspectrometer with a high-resolution HPGe detector (Canberra).
The FWHW of the spectrum was 1.29 keV at 662 keV and 1.70 keV at
1332 keV. The MBSS 2 calibrated standard solution (Czech Metrological Institute, Prague) was used for energy and efciency calibration. The geometry of the calibration source was a Marinelli
container (447.7 4.5 cm3) with a density of 0.99 0.01 g cm3.
The source contained 241Am, 109Cd, 139Ce, 57Co, 60Co, 137Cs, 113Sn,
85
Sr, 88Y, and 203Hg. Geometry of the sample container was the
same as for the calibration source. Time of measurement was 24 h.
In measurements and spectral data analysis a personal computer
with GENIE software (2000) was used.

Please cite this article in press as: Kosior, G., et al., Trace elements in native and transplanted Fontinalis antipyretica and Platyhypnidium
riparioides from rivers polluted by uranium mining, Chemosphere (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.131

G. Kosior et al. / Chemosphere xxx (2016) 1e6

Fig. 1. Location of the investigated area. Symbols: full squares sampling sites in polluted Jedlica (1e5), Jelenia Struga (6e10), Kle
snica (11e15) and Kamienica (16e20) rivers; open
square control sites in the source area of Kwisa.

2.4. Statistical analysis

For verication of the normality of the concentration distribution, Shapiro-Wilk's W test was used, and to check the homogeneity of variances the Brown-Forsythe test was applied (Arga,
2004). For obtaining normal distribution Box-Cox data transformation was used. The lambda parameters were as follows: Al

1.61, Ag 0.41, As 0.22, Au 0.17, B 0.28, Ba 0.59, Be 0.26, Bi 0.94,

Cd0.29, Ce 0.88, Co 0.46, Cr 0.47, Cs 0.32, Cu 0.0001, Dy 0.54, Er
0.54, Fe 0.97, Ga 1.26, Ge 0.38, Hf 0.6, Hg 0.33, Ho 0.54, In 0.22, Ir
0.11, La 0.43, Li 0.88, Lu 0.46, Mn 0.13, Mo 0.25, Nb 0.20, Nd 0.44,
Ni 0.30, Pb 0.30, Pr 0.44, Pt 0.19, Rb 0.63, Sb 0.27, Sc 0.44, Se
0.416, Si0.10, Sm 0.48, Sn 0.24, Sr 0.13, Ta 0.24, Tb 0.53, Th 0.30,
Ti 0.07, Tl 0.05, Tm 0.48, U0.08, V1.20, W 0.04, Y 0.45, Yb 0.50, Zn

Please cite this article in press as: Kosior, G., et al., Trace elements in native and transplanted Fontinalis antipyretica and Platyhypnidium
riparioides from rivers polluted by uranium mining, Chemosphere (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.131

G. Kosior et al. / Chemosphere xxx (2016) 1e6

0.21, Zr 0.48.
The differences between concentrations of trace elements in
mosses from different sites were evaluated by ANOVA (Zar, 1999).
The signicance of differences in trace element concentrations
between control and native or transplanted F. antipyretica and
P. riparioides were compared with the t-test.
A post-hoc LSD test was used to compare metal concentrations
in mosses between four different rivers.
Pearson correlations between concentrations of trace elements
in native and transplanted F. antipyretica and P. riparioides were
calculated.
All calculations were carried out using Statistica 12 software
(StatSoft Inc, 2014).
3. Results and discussion
The descriptive statistics of trace element ranges in
F. antipyretica and P. riparioides from four rivers and the control are
listed in Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM) 1e5. The mean
concentrations of these elements in mosses from different sites
differed signicantly (ANOVA, P < 0.05) between the rivers.
Trace element concentrations in the native and transplanted
F. antipyretica and P. riparioides were higher in comparison to the
control samples (t-test, P < 0.05). The upper values also exceeded
the concentrations (mg g1) of Al (2666), Ba (81), Be (0.7), Ce (11), Co
(3.6), Cr (4.1), Cu (10), Fe (3757), Hg (0.06), Mn (849), Mo (0.7), Ni
(8.8), Pb (7.4), Rb (11), Sr (23), Ti (114), Tl (0.07), V (6.6), and Zn (130)

zquez et al. (2000) as typical for F. antipyretica from
presented by Va
_
unpolluted spring parts of the Nysa uzycka
river (SW Poland). In
addition, As concentrations were much higher than 1.1 mg g1 given
by Culioli et al. (2009) for F. antipyretica from clean sites. Favas et al.
(2014) considered 3.8 mg g1 as a background water moss concentration of U and observed up to 4979 mg g1 of this element in
F. antipyretica from uranium mineralized areas in Portugal. Native
F. antipyretica and P. riparioides from the most polluted Jedlica river
(sites 1e10) contained much higher concentrations up to (mg g1)
577 and 409 of uranium, respectively (ESM 1). These results point
to the serious pollution of the examined river especially with As, Ba,
Fe, Mn, Pb, Ti, U and Zn reaching extremely high concentrations in
native F. antipyretica and P. riparioides (ESM 1e2).
The T-test (P < 0.05) revealed that control F. antipyretica contained signicantly higher concentrations of Be, Cu, Er, Ge, Hg, Ho,
La, Mn, Mo, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Sb, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tl, U, V, W, Yb, Zn and Zr and
signicantly lower concentrations of Cs, Fe, Hf, Nb, Si, Th and Ti
than P. riparioides from the same sites. Native mosses did not differ
in the concentration of these elements except for Th, which was
also higher in native P. riparioides. For transplants of both species,
the same relations as in the control river were observed for Er, Ge,
Mo, Sb, Sr Ta, Tl Yb and Zn. According to Siebert et al. (1996) and
Wehr and Whitton (1983), P. riparioides is more sensitive to changes
in the concentration of metals in water and can accumulate Cd, Cu,
Fe, Pb and Zn at higher levels than F. antipyretica. In the present
investigation, P. riparioides accumulated more Fe than F. antipyretica
according to the aforementioned report but less Cu, Pb, and Zn than
F. antipyretica. This discrepancy may be caused by the fact that the
above authors measured metals in 2 cm tips of mosses. Wehr and
Whitton (1983) state that the best control of differences in metalbinding properties of both species might be obtained in populations collected (as in this investigation) from the same river.
Similar accumulation patterns of some trace elements in
F. antipyretica, being higher than in P. riparioides both in the control
river as well as in the same mosses transplanted to the polluted
rivers, may probably be explained by some memory effect (Mouvet
et al., 1993; Ogle et al., 2015). However, further investigation is
necessary to probe into this problem.

Pearson correlations (P < 0.05) calculated for the concentration

of trace elements in F. antipyretica and P. riparioides revealed that
native and transplanted mossess of the same species had similar
groups of related elements. This can probably be explained by the
presence of the elements combined in similar rocks from pits and
dumps being leached during erosion processes (V

azquez et al.,
2013). According to Faus-Kessler et al. (2001), pollutants from the
same source tend to change according to variations in the entire
emission from this source. Thus the relation between trace elements in mosses should depend on sources they have in common.
A post-hoc LSD test (P < 0.05) showed that F. antipyretica and
P. riparioides from the Jedlica river (sites 1e5) contained signicantly higher concentrations of As, Ba, Fe, La, Nd, Ni, Pb, and U than
these species from other rivers. Both species from the Jelenia Struga
river (sites 6e10) contained signicantly higher concentrations of
Cu and Zn than F. antipyretica and P. riparioides from the other
rivers. The concentration of all remaining 46 elements in
F. antipyretica and P. riparioides did not differ between the rivers.
Therefore, the concentrations of As, Ba, Cu, Fe, La, Nd, Ni, Pb, U and
Zn in mosses only were selected for further comparisons between
native and transplanted species. Moreover, preliminary measurements of activity concentrations of radionuclides in native and
transplanted F. antipyretica and P. riparioides (ESM 6) indicated that
both species from the Jedlica river (sites 1e5) had the highest
concentrations of 226Ra, 235U, and 212Pb.
The T-test (P < 0.05) showed that native F. antipyretica and
P. riparioides from the most polluted Jedlica river (sites 1e5) after
30 days of exposure contained signicantly higher concentrations
of As, Ba, Fe, La, Nd, Ni, Pb and U than transplants (ESM 7e11
Figs. 2e6). In the Jelenia Struga river (sites 6e10), most polluted
with Zn, native F. antipyretica and P. riparioides also contained
signicantly higher concentrations of Zn than transplants (ESM 11).
The concentration of Cu was signicantly higher in transplants than
in native moss for both species in all rivers. Thus the prevailing
regularity (ESM 7e11) appears to be that at the most polluted sites
native F. antipyretica and P. riparioides contained signicantly
higher concentrations of As, Ba, Fe, La, Nd, Ni, Pb, U and Zn than
transplanted individuals, while in less polluted sites a reverse sit
nde
z et al. (2000) believe that
uation could be observed. Ferna
plants may possess some ability to adapt to environmental conditions. These authors report that transplanted Scleropodium purum
contained more Hg than the native one. Transplanted Pohlia nutans
from the investigation of Samecka-Cymerman and Kempers (2007)
accumulated more metals than native mosses of the same species.
These differences may be caused by the fact that in their investigation various moss species living in a terrestrial environment were
used. According to Gauszka (2005) and Harmens et al. (2013), a
specic way of accumulation exists for mosses. Vuori and Helisten
(2010) claim that F. antipyretica and P. riparioides should not be
pooled for some metal analyses. Metabolic differences between
species or chemical features of delivered metals could also be
involved (Ziembik et al., 2013). However, results similar to the
present study were reported by Kosior et al. (2010) for P. schreberi. A
native moss from strongly polluted sites accumulated higher concentrations of some metals than transplanted moss from the same
sites. Thus, choice between native or transplanted P. schreberi for
metal biomonitoring depended on the load of pollution. Native
mosses were better indicators of contamination than transplanted
species in sites more polluted with metals. However, a reverse
trend was observed in less polluted sites (Kosior et al., 2010).
Samecka-Cymerman et al. (2005) found that native F. antipyretica
accumulated more Co and Mn and less Al, Cr, Cu, Pb, V and Zn than
the transplanted moss. However, these authors did not distinguish
between more or less polluted sampling sites. According to Rao
(1982), to survive in unfavourable conditions, mosses might stop

Please cite this article in press as: Kosior, G., et al., Trace elements in native and transplanted Fontinalis antipyretica and Platyhypnidium
riparioides from rivers polluted by uranium mining, Chemosphere (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.131

G. Kosior et al. / Chemosphere xxx (2016) 1e6

the accumulation of xenobiotics. However, elevated levels of metals

are often observed in mosses growing in an environment polluted
with the same metals (Gofnet and Shaw, 2009). Varela et al. (2015)
state that various functional groups in the cell wall determine
whether mosses retain or take up metals. Segregation on the cation
exchange site could be the rst step in the accumulation of trace
elements into the protoplasts of these plants (Gofnet and Shaw,
2009). It may be possible that native F. antipyretica and
P. riparioides develop protection mechanisms while living under the
constant inuence of elevated levels of harmful elements

nde
z and Carballeira, 2000). However, in rivers with
(Ferna
extremely high concentrations of trace elements, their level in
native mosses could be still higher than in transplanted ones, for
which a change of the river from clean to seriously polluted could
cause a chemical shock. There is also a possibility that transplants
under such circumstances may protect themselves by changing the
molecular features of enzymes in the membrane and thus reduce or

nde
z and Carballeira,
block the uptake of trace elements (Ferna



-Alvaro
2000). According to Garca
et al. (2000), some moss species (F. antipyretica) protect themselves with glutathione, which
implies a major role in the prevention of metal stress, particularly
shortly after these elements are provided. According to Cesa et al.
(2015) also environmental factors such as antagonistic interactions between cations on binding sites may negatively inuence trace element uptake in transplants. There is a common
opinion that active biomonitoring with F. antipyretica transplants
gives results that allow an adequate comparison because of the
standardized period of bioaccumulation (Siebert et al., 1996).
However, the present investigation shows that in extremely
polluted rivers concentration of trace elements in the examined
area may be miscalculated in studies based on transplanted mosses.
Another remaining problem is to nd an explanation why the
transplanted F. antipyretica and P. riparioides accumulated higher
concentrations of Cu than the native ones in all rivers, even in the
Jelenia Struga (sites 6e10) with the highest concentration of Cu. In
comparison to the other examined elements (As, Ba, Fe, Nd, Ni, U,
Zn), the highest concentration of Cu (up to 83 mg g1) was e.g. 290,
72 and 25 times lower than that of Fe, As and Ba, respectively, in
moss samples from the most polluted rivers (sites 1e10). However,
the Cu concentration was still higher than the average of 10 mg g1
typical for F. antipyretica from unpolluted spring parts of the Nysa
_

zquez et al., 2000). Apparently, Cu concentrations
uzycka
river (Va
up to 83 mg g1 were still low enough for transplanted
F. antipyretica and P. riparioides to accumulate more of this element
than the native ones. Opposite results were reported by Mouvet
(1984) for transplanted F. antipyretica (containing 93 mg g1),
which accumulated less Cu than the native moss. The resistance of
F. antipyretica to Cu is achieved by immobilization of this metal in
the cell wall (Koleva et al., 2014). According to Gonalves and
Boaventura (1998) the uptake of Cu may depend on the physiological constitution of moss. However, precise explanation of all the
questions raised above concerning the accumulation of trace elements by F. antipyretica and P. riparioides needs further
investigation.
4. Conclusions
The examined rivers were seriously polluted especially with As,
Ba, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ti, U and Zn, which was reected in the excessive
concentrations of these toxic metals in native F. antipyretica and
P. riparioides.
In the most polluted rivers, native F. antipyretica and
P. riparioides contained signicantly higher concentrations of As, Ba,
Cu, Fe, La, Nd, Ni, Pb, U, and Zn than transplanted ones, whereas in
less polluted sites the reverse situation was observed. The

transplanted moss moved from a clean into an extremely polluted

river probably protected itself against the accumulation of toxic
elements, thus reducing their uptake.
The present results allow some conclusions concerning pollution in four rivers based on the concentrations of trace elements
established in native and transplanted F. antipyretica and
P. riparioides. First of all, these results show that moss-based bioindication in extremely polluted rivers in which concentrations of
trace elements are estimated in transplanted mosses may be
misleading.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.131.
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Please cite this article in press as: Kosior, G., et al., Trace elements in native and transplanted Fontinalis antipyretica and Platyhypnidium
riparioides from rivers polluted by uranium mining, Chemosphere (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.131