Factors influencing the morphology of moss Syntrichia ruralis

¹ School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Narva rd 25, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
² University of Tartu, Institute of Physics, W. Ostwaldi Str 1, 50411 Tartu, Estonia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Mosses are good environmental indicators, but there is little detailed information about how environmental pollution affects the physiology of mosses. The morphological traits of mosses depend on both natural environmental factors and environmental pollution. This research aims to find answers about the effect of various factors on the morphology of the species Syntrichia ruralis. Different morphological parameters of S. ruralis were measured in the Northern European city of Tallinn. Based on the stationary and street pollution source inventory and air pollution dispersion modelling, the long-term concentrations of fine particles (PM10) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were estimated. Based on the forward selection procedure of CCA, the best features influencing the morphology of S. ruralis were NOx and position. NOx described 32% of the variation and position 9%. The mosses growing on the vertical surface had narrower shoots than those growing on the horizontal surface. There was a negative correlation (p < 0.05) between all measured morphological traits and the estimated NOx and PM10. Increased traffic leads to a rise in nitrogen and fine particle levels, the latter containing heavy metals. As it is known that one of the growth periods of mosses is in spring, the longest shoots, green parts of shoots, and the largest number of adventitious branches were also recorded in spring in this study.