141
1974). However, mosses also have some specific characteristics that we do not find
in other terrestrial plants, which really makes them a special plant group. They are
non- vascular plants, meaning they do not have a conduction system in the form of
phloem and xylem, for the supply of water and nutrients. Therefore, all mosses can
absorb water all over the body (González and Pokrovsky 2014). Mosses also lack an
internal support system because their cell wall does not contain the solid substance
lignin, commonly present in stem cell conduction cells at a higher stage of development. The vegetative body of moss is not differentiated into three basic parts, root,
stem, and leaf, which are found in other stems, but there are analogous formations.
Instead of roots, most mosses have thin, hair-like tubes, which are also found in
algae and are called rhizoids (Mägdefrau 1982). They attach the body of the moss
to the substrate and supply nutrients from the soil. The part that corresponds to the
stem is called the stems, while instead of leaves in mosses we are talking about
leaves (philoids). Depending on the appearance of the tree, mosses can be divided
into two groups: (1) sedimentary mosses, which have a sedimentary body resembling algae (it is not separated into stems and leaves, but is patchy and laid down and
attached to the substrate by means of rhizoids), and (2) folio mosses in which the
vegetative body is divided into stems and leaves and instead of roots they also have
rhizoids. Unlike other stem plants, mosses have a unique life cycle in which the
vegetative green body of the plant is a gametophyte or sexual generation and as such
is dominant over the sporophyte or asexual generation. The small sporophyte, which
has no special assimilation organs, parasitizes on the gametophyte and is physiologically completely dependent on it. In more sedentary trees, the situation changes
significantly, and there are a trend of reducing gametophytes and the simultaneous
development of sporophytes in the dominant generation (Mägdefrau 1982).
The toxic effects of heavy metals in bryophyte cells are predominately caused by
the intracellular fraction, while the metals outside the cells do not have immediate
effects on cellular metabolism (Fernandez et al. 2007; Shakya et al. 2008; Basile
et al. 2012). Thus, the strategies used by bryophytes in response to heavy metal
stress may include both the avoidance and the tolerance of this type of abiotic stress.
Modification of any of the characteristics influencing its retention and cation
exchange capacities or the activity of metal transporters in plasma membrane could
lead to exclusion of heavy metals (Boquete et al. 2014). For example, differences in
the cell wall chemical composition between the mosses and liverworts or in different species in a group could explain the differences in the uptake of different metals
and thus the differences in their sensitivity to these pollutants observed in Stankovic
et al. (2018). They have shown that the degree of tolerance to cadmium may be
influenced by the cell wall binding of different non-toxic cations naturally occurring
in the cells or the environment, which then can create unfavorable conditions for the
binding of heavy metals around the plasma membrane and prevent their entrance
into the cytoplasm.
5 Proposing Chemometric Tool for Efficacy Surface Dust Deposition Tracking…
1974). However, mosses also have some specific characteristics that we do not find
in other terrestrial plants, which really makes them a special plant group. They are
non- vascular plants, meaning they do not have a conduction system in the form of
phloem and xylem, for the supply of water and nutrients. Therefore, all mosses can
absorb water all over the body (González and Pokrovsky 2014). Mosses also lack an
internal support system because their cell wall does not contain the solid substance
lignin, commonly present in stem cell conduction cells at a higher stage of development. The vegetative body of moss is not differentiated into three basic parts, root,
stem, and leaf, which are found in other stems, but there are analogous formations.
Instead of roots, most mosses have thin, hair-like tubes, which are also found in
algae and are called rhizoids (Mägdefrau 1982). They attach the body of the moss
to the substrate and supply nutrients from the soil. The part that corresponds to the
stem is called the stems, while instead of leaves in mosses we are talking about
leaves (philoids). Depending on the appearance of the tree, mosses can be divided
into two groups: (1) sedimentary mosses, which have a sedimentary body resembling algae (it is not separated into stems and leaves, but is patchy and laid down and
attached to the substrate by means of rhizoids), and (2) folio mosses in which the
vegetative body is divided into stems and leaves and instead of roots they also have
rhizoids. Unlike other stem plants, mosses have a unique life cycle in which the
vegetative green body of the plant is a gametophyte or sexual generation and as such
is dominant over the sporophyte or asexual generation. The small sporophyte, which
has no special assimilation organs, parasitizes on the gametophyte and is physiologically completely dependent on it. In more sedentary trees, the situation changes
significantly, and there are a trend of reducing gametophytes and the simultaneous
development of sporophytes in the dominant generation (Mägdefrau 1982).
The toxic effects of heavy metals in bryophyte cells are predominately caused by
the intracellular fraction, while the metals outside the cells do not have immediate
effects on cellular metabolism (Fernandez et al. 2007; Shakya et al. 2008; Basile
et al. 2012). Thus, the strategies used by bryophytes in response to heavy metal
stress may include both the avoidance and the tolerance of this type of abiotic stress.
Modification of any of the characteristics influencing its retention and cation
exchange capacities or the activity of metal transporters in plasma membrane could
lead to exclusion of heavy metals (Boquete et al. 2014). For example, differences in
the cell wall chemical composition between the mosses and liverworts or in different species in a group could explain the differences in the uptake of different metals
and thus the differences in their sensitivity to these pollutants observed in Stankovic
et al. (2018). They have shown that the degree of tolerance to cadmium may be
influenced by the cell wall binding of different non-toxic cations naturally occurring
in the cells or the environment, which then can create unfavorable conditions for the
binding of heavy metals around the plasma membrane and prevent their entrance
into the cytoplasm.
5 Proposing Chemometric Tool for Efficacy Surface Dust Deposition Tracking…