LARGE-SCALE MULTIELEMENT SURVEY OF ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION USING NATURALLY GROWING MOSS AS BIOMONITOR

Data for 26 elements from a nationwide survey in Norway using the moss Hylocomium splendens as a biomonitor are used to illustrate the feasibility of this technique or multi-element studies of airborne trace elements from local point sources, transboundary air pollution, and natural cycling processes. Contributions from non-atmospheric sources such as windblown soil dust and leaching from vascular plants are identified and discussed. Long range atmospheric transport appears to strongly dominate the deposition of several pollutant trace elements in Norway.