J. Phys. IV France 107 (2003) 25
DOI: 10.1051/jp4:20030234

Use of a moss culture as bioaccumulator for the biomonitoring of metal contamination in continental waters

C. Ah-Peng^{1, 2}, C. Rausch de Traubenberg¹ and F.-O. Denayer<sup>3

1</sup>  Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Régulation, Développement et Biodiversité Moléculaire, USM 0505, Ecosystèmes et Intéractions Toxiques, 12 rue Buffon, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France
²  Tauw Environnement, Agence de Douai, 299 rue Saint-Sulpice, 59500 Douai, France
³  Université de Lille 2, Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, Département de Botanique et de Cryptogamie, 3 rue du Professeur Laguesse, BP. 83, 59006 Lille, France

Abstract
Aquatic bryophytes have been widely used as bioindicators since the 70s. Due to their ability to accumulate pollutants, they give information about past and present pollution events. Nowadays, they are commonly used to assess trace metal contamination in continental waters. Using a cultured transplanted moss will permit to improve this technique by standardizing the method (same species and strains, same "zero value"...) and ensure the comparison and repeatability of the results. Although a moss strain of the species Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw. has been cultured successfully for 2 years in our laboratory, the main difficulty consists in obtaining biomass as quick as possible and consequently to find parameters which influence the moss growth. Prier to make a diagnosis tool to assess metal contamination in continental waters, different calibrations remain to be carried out to improve this method, but the results so far obtained encourage in this way.

© EDP Sciences 2003