Sanionia uncinata and Salix polaris as bioindicators of trace element pollution in the High Arctic: a case study at Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Norway

• Published in: Polar biology Vol. 42; no. 7; pp. 1287 - 1297
• Main Authors: Wojtuń, Bronisław, Polechońska, Ludmiła, Pech, Paweł, Mielcarska, Kinga, Samecka-Cymerman, Aleksandra, Szymański, Wojciech, Kolon, Maria, Kopeć, Marcin, Stadnik, Kornelia, Kempers, Alexander J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 15.07.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bioindicators; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomonitoring; Bioremediation; Cadmium; Case studies; Chromium; Coal industry; Coal mines; Cobalt; Contamination; Copper; Ecology; Electric power generation; Exhausts; Gametophytes; Indicator organisms; Indicator species; Indicators (Biology); Industrial plants; Industrial wastes; Iron; Landfills; Lead; Leaves; Life Sciences; Manganese; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Metals; Microbiology; Mineral industry; Mining industry; Mosses; Nickel; Oceanography; Original Paper; Plant Sciences; Pollution sources; Power plants; Salix polaris; Sanionia uncinata; Soil; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Stems; Trace elements; Trace metals; Willow; Zinc; Zoology; Transfer factor; Bioaccumulation factor; Coal mine; Moss; Arctic tundra
• ISSN: 0722-4060; 1432-2056
• DOI: 10.1007/s00300-019-02517-0

Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen) is influenced by local contamination sources, such as exhausts from power plants, traffic, coal mines, and industrial waste dumps subject to weathering, which threatens soil and living organisms. Therefore, the trace element level in this area needs to be evaluated. The moss Sanionia uncinata and prostrate dwarf-shrub Salix polaris were collected as contamination indicators. Concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in these species were measured. The tested hypotheses were: in Longyearbyen and its vicinity (1) the moss S. uncinata and the willow S. polaris may be used as phytoaccumulators and therefore as bioindicators and bioremediators of certain trace elements; (2) the moss S. uncinata  contains higher concentrations of metals than the willow S. polaris. The soil of Longyearbyen was contaminated with Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn. The willow S. polaris may be used in phytoaccumulation and therefore in the bioremediation and bioindication of Cd and Zn from its environment. Stems of S. polaris from Longyearbyen are better bioindicators of Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, and Pb and poorer bioindicators of Cd, Mn, and Zn than leaves of this species. S. polaris (both stems and leaves) was a better bioindicator of Cd and Zn concentrations than green gametophytes of S. uncinata . S. uncinata was a better bioindicator of Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, and Pb than S. polaris.