Biomonitoring of water quality by aquatic bryophytes: optimization and methodological harmonization

Abstract

Aquatic bryophytes, native or transplanted, can be used as reliable, simple and economical tools for biomonitoring the aquatic environment but one of the main impediments to the widespread use of these techniques is the lack of standardized protocols. Hence, the first task of this doctoral research was to address this problem in two critical reviews of the methodology used for passive and active biomonitoring (Chapters I and II). Because of the advantages of the use of transplanted mosses over the use of native mosses, the research efforts then focused on optimizing some of the key methodological aspects of applying the moss bag technique. In Chapter III, the optimal devitalizing treatment of moss samples was selected, while in Chapter IV the optimal number and position of moss bags for use in biomonitoring studies were determined