BRYOPHYTES AS POLLUTION

INDICATORS

Presented by
Gopal Gayary
MSc 1st semester
Roll No-10
Department of botany
Bodoland University
 CONTENTS
1. Introduction.
2. Responses to pollution.
3. Characters of Bryophytes as good indicator.
4. Pollutants.
5. Effect of pollutants on bryophytes.
6. As air pollution indicators.
7. As water pollution indicators.
8. How bryophytes are used as indicators.
9. Advantages.
10. Examples of some pollution indicating species.
11. Limitations.
12. Conclusion.
 BRYOPHYTYES
Bryophytes are non-vascular
plants that includes mosses,
liverworts and hornworts. They
are found in a wide variety of
habitat from tropical, rainforest
to deserts. Bryophytes are Mosses
particularly sensitive to
pollution making them ideal
indicators of the environment
quality. For examples-
Sphagnum, Marchantia,
Anthoceros etc.
Liverworts Hornworts
 BRYOPHYTES IN RESPONSE TO POLLUTION

 There are two types of bryophytes in response to pollution:

1. Which are very sensitive to pollutions and show visible symptoms
of injury even in the presence of minute quantities of pollutants.
This serve as good indicators of the degree of pollutions and also
of the nature of pollutants.
2. Which have capacity to absorb and retain pollutants in quantities
much higher than those absorbed by other plants groups growing
in same habitat. These plants trap and prevent recycling of such
pollutant ecosystem for different period of time. Analysis of such
plant gives a fair idea about the degree of metal pollution.
 Some characters that makes
Bryophytes good indicators
1. They lack a waxy cuticle, which means that they
absorb pollutants directly from the air and water.
2. They have a large surface area to volume ratio,
which further increases their ability to absorb
pollutants.
3. They are slow-growing and long-lived, which means
that they can accumulate pollutants over time.
4. They are relatively easy to identify and collect,
making them suitable for monitoring programs.
Pollutants:
1. Pollutants may be gaseous such as Carbon
monoxide (CO), fluorides, hydrocarbons (HC),
hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitrogen oxides (NO),
Ozone (O3), Sulfur dioxide (S02), lead and
automobiles exhaust fumes.
2. Nitrogen oxides have greatly increased in the
cities with the rise of use of automobiles.
3. Particulate pollutants are dust particles, particles
of metallic oxides, coal, cements, heavy metals
etc.
 Effect of pollutants on bryophytes
1. Bryophytes have been disappearing from urban
industrial environment because of their sensitivity to
polluted air.
2. Air pollution inhibits gametangial formation and
sexual reproduction in bryophytes.
3. They also reduce photosynthesis by degrading
chlorophyll and growth of plants and eventually
cause their death.
4. When heavy metal enters the cell, it inhibits the
photosynthetic activities.
5. The common symptoms of injuries are plasmolysis
and chlorophyll degradation of leaf cells.
 Bryophytes as air pollution indicator
1.Bryophytes, like mosses are very
sensitive to air pollutants, making them
ideal bio-indicator for air quality
monitoring.
2.They absorbs nutrients directly from
the air and accumulates pollutants.
3.Analyzing the bryophytes provides
insights into air quality in a particular
area
Green and Yellow moss from before and after exposure to
sulfur dioxide.
Bryophytes as water pollution indicator
Bryophytes are poikilohydric, meaning
they lack cuticles and rely on direct
contact with water for absorption. This
make them highly susceptible to
changes in water quality.
How are bryophytes used as pollution
indicator
• Bryophytes can be used as pollution
indicators in varieties of ways:
1. They can be transplant to different
location to measure the levels of
pollutants in air.
2. They can be collected from existing site
and analyzed for their pollutant content.
3. They can be used to study the effects of
pollution on ecosystem.
Here are some specific examples of how bryophytes
are being used as pollution indicators:

 The presence of moss species Pleurozium schreberi is

often used as an indicator of low level of sulfur di-oxide.
 The presence of liverworts species Marchantia
polymorpha is often used as an indicator of high levels of
heavy metals in the soil.
 The presence of the moss species Sphagnum mafellacium
in the artic is often used as an indicators of the transport
of pollutants from lover latitudes.
 Bag of moss

Figure 1. a. A tolerant species growing at a polluted site, b. Close up of a moss Hyophila

showing no sporophyte production, c. Moss protonema in normal culture medium
showing prominent growth, d. A moss bag in the water body to monitor metal content
in water, e. A moss bag hangs on the tree to monitor the air metal contents of the site,
f. Moss protonema in culture medium with heavy metals showing highly reduced
growth in comparison to that of ‘c’.
Advantages of using Bryophytes as
pollution indicators
1. Sensitivity: Bryophytes are highly
sensitive to a wide range of pollutants,
including heavy metals, sulfur dioxide,
and nitrogen oxides.
2. Accumulation: Bryophytes accumulate
pollutants in their tissue, allowing for
long-term monitoring of pollution levels.
Advantages of using Bryophytes as
pollution indicators
3.Ease of Collection and Analysis:
Bryophytes are relatively easy to collect and
identify, making them a suitable tool for
environmental monitoring.
4.Cost-Effective: Bryophyte based bio-
monitoring methods are generally less
expensive than traditional chemical
monitoring techniques.
Some Examples of pollution-indicating
species
Mosses:
• Fontinalis antipyretica:
Tolerates a wide range of
pollutants, including Fontinalis antipyretica
heavy metals and organic
matter.
• Hypnum cupressiforme:
Sensitive to sulfur dioxide
and acidification.

Hypnum cupressiforme
Some Examples of pollution-indicating
species

Liverworts:
• Conocephalum conicum:
Sensitive to heavy
metals and acidification. Conocephalum conicum
• Marchantia polymorpha:
Tolerates organic
pollution and nutrient
enrichment.

Marchantia polymorpha
Some Examples of pollution-indicating
species
Hornworts:
• Antheceros punctatus:
Sensitive to heavy
metals and acidification.
Antheceros Punctatus
• Phaeoceros laevis:
Tolerates organic
pollution and nutrient
enrichment.

Phaeoceros laevis
 Limitations
1. Bryophytes can be sensitive to various
environmental conditions, making it
difficult to pinpoint specific pollutants.
Factors like pH, temperature and nutrient
level can affect their growth.
2. Bryophytes may take to show visible sign
to stress or damage in response to
pollution.
 Limitations
3. Bryophytes species vary in their sensitivity
to different pollutants. This means whiles
some species may be excellent indicators of
particular pollutants, other may be less
responsive
4. Bryophytes species have specific habitat
requirements and distribution, which can
limit their usefulness as bio-indicator in
certain area.
 Conclusion
• Bryophytes are valuable tools for
monitoring pollution. They are sensitive
to wide range of pollutants, easy to
collect and identify, and responsive to
changes in pollution levels. Bryophytes
are being used in a variety of ways to
monitor pollution in urban, industrial,
and remotes areas.
 References
• https://chat.openai.com/
• https://bard.google.com/chat
• Youtube.
Thank you