BIOMONITORING OF AIR POLLUTION WITH ZINC IN CROATIA STUDIED BY MOSS SAMPLES AND ICP-AES

A b s t r a c t: Samples from different moss species were collected from 121 sampling sites evenly distributed over the territory of Croatia, during the summer and autumn of 2010. Moss samples were totally digested by using microwave digestion system and analysed by using atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES). Descriptive statistics were made from analyses of zinc in all moss samples. The content of Zn varies between 11.6 mg kg–1 and 77.1 mg kg–1. The median value of Zn content is 24.8 mg kg–1 which is similar to the median value obtained in investigation in 2005 (29.0 mg kg–1). Map of distribution of zinc shows the sites of the country with higher levels of this element. High contents of Zn were found in moss samples collected from the vicinity of Sisak, region of Podravina and Rijeka as a result of anthropogenic pollution. By the comparison of median value found in moss samples from neighboring and Balkan countries as well as Norway, it can be noted that the median for Zn in Croatia has the lowest value.