Moss monitoring in Austria - sampling period 2015

In the framework of UNECE ICP vegetation mosses were collected since 1995 every five years at 220 sampling sites. In 2015 mosses were only collected at 75 sites (selected by complex statistical evaluation) all over Austria and analysed for Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mo, N, Ni, Pb, 5, Sb, V, Zn and the 16 EPA PAHs, as well as coronene, 1-nitro-pyrene und retene. Since 1995 there was a constant decrease for most elements (except As, Cr) on the Austrian level. However, there were hardly any changes since the 2010 collection. In several regions (e.g. around Treibach-Althofen, Ausserfern, northeast of Vienna, Bad Sauerbrunn) even increases (despite already extremely high concentrations) of several toxic elements (incl. PAHs) could be found. PAH quotients (e.g. coronene/BaP) and patterns allowed a clear assignment of PAHs to their sources. Correlations between metal and PAH concentrations were highly significant for Al, Cr, Fe and higher molecular weight PAHs, and between Cd and retene. According to the presented results moss monitoring remains a valuable tool for the assessment of atmospheric pollutants in time and space.