MOSS AND LICHEN AS BIOMONITORS FOR HEAVY-METALS

Concentrations of Zn, Pb and Cd in the mosses Hypnum cupressiforme and Hylocomium splendens were compared with the measurements of these ele ments in lichen-samples of Hypogymnia physodes at five sampling sites with different pollution situation in Switzerland. From measurements o f several sites we found that the ratio of lichen to moss concentratio ns is a function of the the pollution situation determined in moss con centrations. This finding was controlled by further measurements of mo sses and lichen samples from the Simmental region. These results fit w ell in this functional dependency, this is especially true for zinc an d cadmium concentrations.