Biological Monitoring of Heavy Metal Pollution
Land and Air
Published on 6. December 2012
486 pages
978-94-009-7352-7 (ISBN)
Description
In the past two decades there has been an increasing public awareness of the hazards that exist from the contamination of the environment by toxic substances. 'Heavy metals' and the terrestrial environment are but one facet of the impact of toxic substances on the natural environment, and the use of biological materials for indicating the occurrence of, and continually monitoring the presence of, these materials is a specific topic which is of considerable interest to a diverse range of individuals, organisations and disciplines. It was our intention when we first en visaged this book that it should contain a description of a range of circumstances in which biological monitoring techniques have been employed in the terrestrial environment and that it should be seen as a practical text which dealt with the merits, shortcomings and suitability of biological monitoring materials. Monitoring is, however, a manifold process. It serves not only to provide information on past and present concentrations of toxic materials in various components of the environ ment, but also to provide information on the processes of environmental release, transport, accumulation and toxicity. Indeed, this may be one of the greatest virtues of biological monitoring over other forms of monitor ing. According to the skill of the staff employed in the monitoring procedure, the information that is accrued can have a vastly different value.
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Other editions
Additional editions
M.H. Martin | P. J. Coughtrey
Biological Monitoring of Heavy Metal Pollution
Book
11/1982
Kluwer Academic Publishers
€89.28
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Content
1 Introduction.- 1.1 Definition and Use of the Term Heavy Metal.- 1.2 Sources of Heavy Metals in the Environment.- 1.3 Biological Indicators and Monitors.- 1.4 Philosophy of Monitoring.- 1.5 Why Biological?.- 1.6 Criteria for Selecting Good Biological Materials/Species.- 1.7 Concluding Remarks.- 2 Biological Indicators of Natural Ore-bodies: Geobotanical and Blogeochemical Prospecting for Heavy Metal Deposits.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Geobotanical Prospecting.- 2.3 Biogeochemical Prospecting.- 2.4 Use of Herbaria in Geobotanical and Biogeochemical Prospecting.- 2.5 Conclusions.- 3 The Use of Vegetation for Monitoring Airborne Heavy Metal Deposition.- 3A Background and Practical Considerations.- 3A.1 Introduction.- 3A.2 Particulate Transfer to Vegetation.- 3A.3 Vegetation as a Monitoring Agent.- 3A.4 Aerial Versus Soil Origins of Metals in Plant Samples.- 3A.5 Exposure Periods.- 3A.6 Use of Leaves.- 3A.7 Surface Characteristics of Vegetation, Especially Leaves.- 3B Examples of the Use of Vegetation Monitoring Surveys for Aerial Deposition of Metals.- 3B.1 Roadside Locations.- 3B.2 Smelters and Other Point Sources.- 3B.3 General Industrial or Urban Areas with Diffuse or Unidentified Sources.- 3B.4 Use of Tree Bark.- 3B.5 Use of Epiphytic Vascular Plants, Mosses, Lichens, Micro-organisms and Fungi.- 3B.6 Specific Use of Vegetation for Assessing Potential Hazards to Human and Domestic Animal Health ..- 4 Plants as Monitors of Soil Contamination.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Metal Distribution in Soils.- 4.3 Characteristics of Metal Uptake by Roots.- 4.4 Metal Tolerance and its Relevance to the Use of Higher Plants as Monitors of Soil Contamination ..- 4.5 Interpretation of Monitoring Results, Conclusions and Recommendations.- 5 The use of Terrestrial Animals as Monitors and Indicators of Environmental Contamination by Heavy Metals.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Invertebrates as Monitors and Indicators.- 5.3 Other Animals as Monitors.- 5.4 Conclusions.- 6 The Use of Imported Biological Materials as Monitoring Agents.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Preparation, Exposure and Analysis of Moss-bags..- 6.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Moss-bags.- 6.4 Examples of the Use of Sphagnum Moss-bags in the Field.- 6.5 Wind Tunnel Studies of Moss-bag Characteristics ..- 6.6 Empirical Calibration of Moss-bags Against Air-filter Samplers, Deposit Gauges, Plant and Soil Surfaces..- 6.7 Relationships with Other Collection Materials.- 6.8 Conclusions.- 7 Retrospective and Historical Monitoring.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Tree-ring Analysis.- 7.3 Use of Tree Ring-widths as a Measure of Pollution.- 7.4 Use of Peat Samples.- 7.5 Use of Herbarium Specimens of Bryophytes and Lichens.- 7.6 Use of Preserved Higher Plant Specimens..- 7.7 Use of Animal Specimens.- 7.8 Conclusions.- 8 Biological Monitoring in Perspective.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 Related Studies.- 8.3 Selection of Material and Aims of Study.- 8.4 Sampling Standards and Cross-calibration.- 8.5 Conclusions.- References.- Species and Subject Index.
