A comparison of heavy metal deposition in selected Eastern European countries using the moss monitoring method, with special emphasis on the ‘Black Triangle’

Abstract

The paper describes the use of moss analyses to compare heavy-metal pollution in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Special emphasis is placed on the regions where three countries meet within the area covered by the survey. In the countries participating, samples of Pleurozium schreberi, Scleropodium purum, Hypnum cupressiforme and Hylocomium splendens, Polytrichum formosum and Dicranum scoparium were collected at a total of 831 sampling points and analyzed for the elements Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn. The results were then presented in the form of coloured contour maps using the geographic information system (GIS) ARC-Info. The values found for heavy metals document the level of technical development in the countries concerned, which is generally characterized by a low standard in respect of emission-reducing systems. Moreover, the heavy-metal concentrations reflect the sources of emissions characteristic of the areas in which they occur. Above all, these are the primary use of coal (both hard coal and lignite) as an energy source, the chemical industry and ferrous- and non-ferrous metal working, which produce considerable emissions of particulate and fly ash, and also the use of leaded petrol. In most cases the moss method made it possible to identify the areas affected by the various industrial locations. The results show an increase in heavy-metal concentrations and higher average levels in the eastern parts of the countries compared. The paper also discusses the possibility of including the ‘three-country triangle’ further east in studies of Eastern Europe on the grounds that it constitutes another ‘Black Triangle’ in addition to the already familiar one.