145
crops on sandy, carbonate, and peat soils with a lack of trace elements (He et al.
2005). A significant part of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides also contain Cu,
Zn, Fe, Mn, and even As, and some heavy metals such as Cd and Pb are introduced
into the soil as impurities present in fertilizers. Phosphate fertilizers have the greatest importance among mineral fertilizers in terms of heavy metals as impurities, i.e.,
crude phosphates as single fertilizers or as raw material for the production of single
and complex fertilizers. We pay the greatest attention to the concentration of Cd in
phosphate minerals, although the share of other heavy metals is very significant.
Significant concentrations of heavy metals are found not only in natural phosphates
but also in various mineral fertilizers, conditioners, organic fertilizers, and residues
in agricultural production. Organic fertilizers such as manure and compost contain
higher concentrations of heavy metals than most agricultural soils. The consequence
of continuous use of organic fertilizers is an increase in the total concentration of
heavy metals in the soil. There is a significant positive effect of fertilization on the
availability of essential heavy metals, especially on light sandy and carbonate soils,
but the negative consequence is an increase in the concentration of toxic heavy metals such as Cd and Pb. Therefore, in most countries, the maximum concentration of
certain heavy metals in organic fertilizers is prescribed.
5.5 Chemometric Approaches for Identification of Metal
Depositions
As bioindicators, moss was first used in the Scandinavian countries in the late
1960s, as a complementary method to classical instrumental methods for testing
and controlling environmental pollution (Rühling and Tyler 1968). Later, mosses
and lichens were used as indicators of radioactive contamination of the environment
to examine the global deposition of radionuclides as a result of nuclear tests in the
atmosphere, to assess the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986,
and to assess the state of the environment around nuclear plants and reactors, nuclear
fuel and material processing plants, etc. Today, the moss biomonitoring method is
part of the environmental control program in most European countries because it
provides data on anthropogenic pollution in urban areas, as a consequence of traffic
and fossil fuel combustion, and allows the identification of sources of heavy metal
pollution (Harmens et al. 2008, 2010). Moss is a suitable indicator for the detection
of long-term pollution with uranium and other heavy metals because it accumulates
uranium and other elements and retains them for many years after pollution stopped
(Harmens et al. 2008, 2010; Balabanova et al. 2010, 2016; Bačeva et al. 2012;
Barandovski et al. 2015). However, mosses are often difficult to find in urban areas,
especially in quantities sufficient for analysis. Therefore, the technique of so-called
active biomonitoring or bugs (bags technique) with moss transplants has significant
advantages, such as precisely defined exposure time, known concentration of elements in mosses, and flexibility of site selection (Barandovski et al. 2015). The
5 Proposing Chemometric Tool for Efficacy Surface Dust Deposition Tracking…
crops on sandy, carbonate, and peat soils with a lack of trace elements (He et al.
2005). A significant part of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides also contain Cu,
Zn, Fe, Mn, and even As, and some heavy metals such as Cd and Pb are introduced
into the soil as impurities present in fertilizers. Phosphate fertilizers have the greatest importance among mineral fertilizers in terms of heavy metals as impurities, i.e.,
crude phosphates as single fertilizers or as raw material for the production of single
and complex fertilizers. We pay the greatest attention to the concentration of Cd in
phosphate minerals, although the share of other heavy metals is very significant.
Significant concentrations of heavy metals are found not only in natural phosphates
but also in various mineral fertilizers, conditioners, organic fertilizers, and residues
in agricultural production. Organic fertilizers such as manure and compost contain
higher concentrations of heavy metals than most agricultural soils. The consequence
of continuous use of organic fertilizers is an increase in the total concentration of
heavy metals in the soil. There is a significant positive effect of fertilization on the
availability of essential heavy metals, especially on light sandy and carbonate soils,
but the negative consequence is an increase in the concentration of toxic heavy metals such as Cd and Pb. Therefore, in most countries, the maximum concentration of
certain heavy metals in organic fertilizers is prescribed.
5.5 Chemometric Approaches for Identification of Metal
Depositions
As bioindicators, moss was first used in the Scandinavian countries in the late
1960s, as a complementary method to classical instrumental methods for testing
and controlling environmental pollution (Rühling and Tyler 1968). Later, mosses
and lichens were used as indicators of radioactive contamination of the environment
to examine the global deposition of radionuclides as a result of nuclear tests in the
atmosphere, to assess the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986,
and to assess the state of the environment around nuclear plants and reactors, nuclear
fuel and material processing plants, etc. Today, the moss biomonitoring method is
part of the environmental control program in most European countries because it
provides data on anthropogenic pollution in urban areas, as a consequence of traffic
and fossil fuel combustion, and allows the identification of sources of heavy metal
pollution (Harmens et al. 2008, 2010). Moss is a suitable indicator for the detection
of long-term pollution with uranium and other heavy metals because it accumulates
uranium and other elements and retains them for many years after pollution stopped
(Harmens et al. 2008, 2010; Balabanova et al. 2010, 2016; Bačeva et al. 2012;
Barandovski et al. 2015). However, mosses are often difficult to find in urban areas,
especially in quantities sufficient for analysis. Therefore, the technique of so-called
active biomonitoring or bugs (bags technique) with moss transplants has significant
advantages, such as precisely defined exposure time, known concentration of elements in mosses, and flexibility of site selection (Barandovski et al. 2015). The
5 Proposing Chemometric Tool for Efficacy Surface Dust Deposition Tracking…