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Biology
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Threats of Atmospheric Pollutants to Biological Systems
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Threats of Atmospheric Pollutants to Biological Systems

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 8379

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Simonetta Giordano

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy
Interests: biomonitoring of air quality; bioaccumulation of pollutants; plant-environment interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Valeria Spagnuolo

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy
Interests: phytoremediation; plant biomonitoring; plant response to abiotic stress; plant biodiversity along environmental gradients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fiore Capozzi

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy
Interests: plants as biomonitors of air quality; phytoremediation; factors influencing plant growth in a space environment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issues is devoted to the publication of papers presented at the 9th Biomap, a workshop on the biomonitoring of atmospheric pollution that was held in Napoli (Italy) on 3–5 October 2022 https://biomap9.azuleon.org/welcome).

Environmental pollution is one of the most pressing concerns worldwide, particularly in industrialized countries. Biological systems can display signs of sensitivity or tolerance to environmental pollutants, depending on their ability to develop proper mechanisms in facing environmental stress. Heavy metals, PAHs, microplastics, and other persistent pollutants accumulate in the environment as a consequence of natural and human activities, posing a risk to all biota components and affecting ecosystem stability.

Therefore, the extensive monitoring of atmospheric pollution represents a first step to discovering polluting sources and adopting proper mitigating countermeasures. Among widely consolidated approaches, few data exist  on the potential of organisms as biomonitors of emerging or less investigated pollutants such as microplastics, graphene, and radionuclides. Moreover, data characterizing the pollution footprint of natural, anthropized, and confined environments using living organisms are urgently needed.

Furthermore, the effects of less studied stressors on reactive organisms (e.g., physical stress, ionizing radiations, etc.) deserve in-depth dedicated investigations and analyses.

We welcome all original studies focused on biomonitors of environmental pollutants to this Special Issue; special attention will be given to general issues concerning the threats atmospheric pollutants pose to biological systems.

Prof. Dr. Simonetta Giordano
Prof. Dr. Valeria Spagnuolo
Dr. Fiore Capozzi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • bioindicators
  • bioaccumulators
  • atmospheric pollutants
  • air quality
  • environmental justice
  • ecotoxicology
  • ionizing radiation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 909 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Moss and Lichen Transplants as Biomonitors of Airborne Anthropogenic Microfibers
by Fiore Capozzi, Maria Cristina Sorrentino, Angelo Granata, Alessandro Vergara, Miriam Alberico, Manuela Rossi, Valeria Spagnuolo and Simonetta Giordano
Biology 2023, 12(10), 1278; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12101278 - 25 Sep 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1462
Abstract
Anthropogenic microfibers (mfs) are synthetic particles composed of cellulose (cotton, rayon, acetate, etc.) or petrochemical-based polymers (i.e., microplastics—MPs) that are less than 5 mm in length. The accumulation of mfs, including MPs, in the moss Hypnum cupressiforme and the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea was [...] Read more.
Anthropogenic microfibers (mfs) are synthetic particles composed of cellulose (cotton, rayon, acetate, etc.) or petrochemical-based polymers (i.e., microplastics—MPs) that are less than 5 mm in length. The accumulation of mfs, including MPs, in the moss Hypnum cupressiforme and the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea was compared in a transplant experiment lasting 6 weeks. We also tested the effects of the bag used for transplants on the accumulation of mfs. Anthropogenic particles trapped by both biomonitors were mostly filamentous (99% mfs), and their number was overall higher in the moss (mean ± s.d. 102 ± 24) than in the lichen (mean ± s.d. 87 ± 17), at parity of sample weight. On average, mfs found in lichen were significantly longer than those found in moss bags, suggesting that lichens are less efficient at retaining smaller mfs. Exposure without the net yielded a higher mfs number accumulation in both species, indicating that “naked” transplants provide greater sensitivity. The calculation of daily fluxes evidenced a loss of mfs in the lichen, suggesting the presence of more stable bonds between moss and mfs. Raman microspectroscopy carried out on about 100 debris confirms the anthropogenic nature of mfs, of which 20% were MPs. Overall results indicate that moss is preferable to lichen in the biomonitoring of airborne mfs especially when exposed naked. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Threats of Atmospheric Pollutants to Biological Systems)
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12 pages, 1303 KiB  
Article
Moss Bags as Biomonitors of Atmospheric Microplastic Deposition in Urban Environments
by Carter Bertrim and Julian Aherne
Biology 2023, 12(2), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12020149 - 18 Jan 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3137
Abstract
Microplastics (plastic particles <5 mm) were first identified in the environment during the 1970s and have since become ubiquitous across every environmental compartment. However, few studies have focused on atmospheric microplastics, and even fewer have used biological monitoring to assess their atmospheric deposition. [...] Read more.
Microplastics (plastic particles <5 mm) were first identified in the environment during the 1970s and have since become ubiquitous across every environmental compartment. However, few studies have focused on atmospheric microplastics, and even fewer have used biological monitoring to assess their atmospheric deposition. Here, we assess the efficacy of moss bags as an active biomonitoring technique for atmospheric microplastic deposition. Moss (Pleurozium schreberi) bags were exposed in duplicate at nine deployment sites across a gradient of urban intensity in southern Ontario, Canada. A total of 186 microplastics (mp) were detected in the moss bags, resulting in a mean accumulation of 7.9 mp g−1 dry weight moss across all sites during the exposure period (45 days). The median microplastic length was 0.56 mm (range 0.03–4.51 mm), and the dominant microplastic type was fibres (47%), followed by fragments (39%). Microplastic accumulation significantly increased with urban intensity, ranging from 3.7 mp g−1 in low-density suburban areas to 10.7 mp g−1 in densely populated and trafficked urban areas. In contrast, microfibres by proportion dominated in suburban (62%) compared with urban areas (33%). Microplastic deposition was estimated to range from 21 to 60 mp m−2 day−1 across the nine deployment sites. The results suggest that moss bags may be a suitable technique for the active biomonitoring of atmospheric microplastic deposition in urban environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Threats of Atmospheric Pollutants to Biological Systems)
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7 pages, 1012 KiB  
Article
Lichen Biomonitoring of Airborne Microplastics in Milan (N Italy)
by Mehriban Jafarova, Tania Contardo, Julian Aherne and Stefano Loppi
Biology 2022, 11(12), 1815; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11121815 - 14 Dec 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3123
Abstract
This study investigated the deposition of airborne microplastics (MPs) in the urban area of Milan across 12 sites and at a background control site (northern Italy) using 3-month transplants of the fruticose lichen species Evernia prunastri (exposed in triplicate). The primary objective was [...] Read more.
This study investigated the deposition of airborne microplastics (MPs) in the urban area of Milan across 12 sites and at a background control site (northern Italy) using 3-month transplants of the fruticose lichen species Evernia prunastri (exposed in triplicate). The primary objective was to evaluate the use of lichen transplants for the assessment of MP deposition; as such, the study sites spanned a gradient in vehicular traffic and population density across four concentric land-use zones (i.e., urban parks, centre, semi-periphery, and periphery). A total of 149 MP particles were detected in the exposed lichen samples; 94.6% were classified as fibres and 5.4% as fragments. The control site and urban parks experienced a similar number of MPs per gram of dry lichen (20–26 MP/g), while a higher number of MPs were detected in central and peripheral areas (44–56 MP/g), with a clear increasing gradient from the city centre towards the periphery. We estimated the MP deposition in Milan to be in the range of 43–119 MPs m2/d, indicating that people living in Milan are exposed to airborne MPs, with potential health effects. This study suggests that lichens are suitable biomonitors of airborne MPs under a relatively short exposure of three months in urban environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Threats of Atmospheric Pollutants to Biological Systems)
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