Sentinelas da floresta: musgos como biomonitores de metais pesados em ambiente Urbano-Industrial Amazônico
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Atmospheric biomonitoring with mosses has established itself as a sensitive and robust tool for evaluating metal deposition, tracking the continuous growth of international scientific output. Nevertheless, gaps remain regarding the integration of temporal trends, taxonomic patterns, and the geographical distribution of studies, especially in Neotropical regions. A systematic review was conducted using the Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, covering the period between 1999 and 2024. A total of 1,761 records were identified, of which 540 met the inclusion criteria. A significant increase in publications was observed from the 2000s onwards, with a predominance of investigations in urban and industrial areas and a strong geographical concentration in Europe (>53%). In these regions, established protocols predominantly utilize pleurocarpous species widely distributed in temperate zones, highlighting the need for approaches adapted to tropical contexts. In this scenario, the Amazon assumes strategic relevance in the face of growing anthropogenic pressures that affect air quality. In Manaus, the atmospheric deposition of twelve metals was evaluated using ICP-OES in 65 moss samples of the species Calymperes palisotii Schwägr., collected across Industrial, Urban, Port and Less Impacted Zones. The median contents (mg kg⁻¹) followed the decreasing order: Fe (897.0) > Zn (64.8) > Mn (44.7) > Ba (39.0) > Ti (15.6) > Cu (11.2) > Ni (4.6) > Pb (4.0) > Cr (3.0) > Cd (0.4) > Co (0.2) > As (0.2), with the greatest enrichment observed in the Industrial Zone. Multivariate analyses indicated an association among Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Ti, and Zn, suggesting a predominant influence from industrial emissions and vehicular traffic, while spatial analyses identified critical accumulation areas mainly in the southeast of the city, with a secondary influence of wind dynamics on metal deposition. In an integrated manner, the results confirm the potential of C. palisotii as an efficient biomonitor in a tropical urban environment and highlight the need for methodological standardization and the strengthening of monitoring networks in underrepresented regions, thereby expanding the ecological and geographical representativeness of the field.
DOI: 10.61818/ted26089
Author: Nikson da Costa Castro
Language: English
Topic: Lichen and fungal ecology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7214040167