A comparison of indigenous mosses and topsoils for use in monitoring atmospheric heavy metal deposition in Galicia (northwest Spain)

Samples of moss (Scleropodium purum or, in its absence, Hypnum cupressiforme) and of topsoil (0-5 cm) were collected in the spring of 1995, from 75 sites distributed throughout Galicia (northwest Spain) in order to compare the potential usefulness of each in evaluating the atmospheric deposition of contaminants. Analysis was made of the total content of various metals in the moss and of different soil metal fractions (including total metal content, labile metals and metals bound to organic material). We found that the labile fraction most closely resembled the metal content of the moss. Calculation of enrichment factors allowed us to show that the soil was not, except in the case of Cr, the main source of contamination in the moss. By comparing contamination factors of metals in moss and soil fraction samples we found that moss samples were more useful for evaluating the degree of contamination at different sites.