Pellia endiviifolia (Dicks.) Dumort. Liverwort with a Potential for Water Purification

Agnieszka Parzych,Jerzy Jonczak,Zbigniew Sobisz

doi:10.1007/s41742-018-0105-z

Agnieszka Parzych, Jerzy Jonczak + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-018-0105-z

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess accumulation ability of the liverwort of Pellia endiviifolia Dicks. Dum. in relation with macro- and trace elements uptake from stream water within the mid-forest headwater ecosystem. The research was carried out under conditions of limited impact of anthropogenic factors, which allowed assessing the nutrient needs and providing information on the accumulative possibilities of P. endiviifolia. The concentrations of 12 elements (N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Zn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Mn, Al, and Sr) in thalli of liverwort collected from three sites in northern Poland were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry and by microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The thalli of the tested liverwort accumulated, on average, 2502.28 mmolc/kg of macro- and trace elements, with macronutrients accounting for 96.22% of this pool. Nitrogen constituted 40.3% of this sum, phosphorus 4.9%, potassium 38.1%, magnesium 5.0%, calcium 12.1%, and trace elements 3.78% of this sum. Among trace elements, the dominant share was represented by iron 56.30%, manganese 24.80%, and aluminum 16.95%, and the share of other elements was lower than 1%. Accumulation in thalli of P. endiviifolia high concentrations of iron and manganese confirms the potential use this species in the processes purification of waters contaminated with iron and manganese compounds. Based on the results of the research, it was found that the amount of accumulated Mg, Fe, and Cu was influenced by environmental conditions, whereas N, P, K, Ca, Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, and Sr rather by species-related features than environmental factors.

Highlights

Pellia endiviifolia (Dicks.) Dum. is a representative of thalloid liverworts of the Pelliidae subclass, the class of Jungermanniopsida (Crandall-Stotler and Stotler 2000; HeNygren et al 2006)
Accumulation in thalli of P. endiviifolia high concentrations of iron and manganese confirms the potential use this species in the processes purification of waters contaminated with iron and manganese compounds
Waters of the studied streams were characterized by weakly alkaline reaction and the average electrolytic conductivity (EC), which ranged from 106.5 to 279.2 lS/cm (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Pellia endiviifolia (Dicks.) Dum. is a representative of thalloid liverworts of the Pelliidae subclass, the class of Jungermanniopsida (Crandall-Stotler and Stotler 2000; HeNygren et al 2006). P. endiviifolia is a species widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and it belongs to the hydrophilous liverworts. It occurs on stones, dead wood, most often in ditches, spring streams, and other damp places. Due to the occurrence of P. endiviifolia in both clean and polluted waters (Osadowski 2010) and its accumulative properties in relation with some impurities (Satake et al 1987), this species may be useful in water treatment processes. Analysis of accumulative properties of P. endiviifolia in relation with macro- and trace elements occurring in the forest streams of headwater niches greatly enriches the area of knowledge on the accumulation possibilities and the use of this species in environmental protection

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