Tourist Use And Moss Contamination At Torres Del Paine National Park,Chile

Lead (Pb) contamination in mosses at Torres del Paine National Park in Chile was examined using data from samples collected in 1984, 1985, 1988, 1997 and 2001. Due to its remote location and protected status, Torres del Paine remains one of the last ecosystems in the world with the minimum anthropogenic influence, providing one of the most suitable environments for studying natural processes. Monitoring sites were established in 1983 as part of a global network of baseline environment monitoring sites and were located in the unique Nothofagus pumilio forest ecosystems. Atmospheric samples collected in the park in 1983 showed some of the lowest pollutant loadings recorded on the planet. Only atmospheric samples reported from Antarctica have lower concentrations than those reported in the atmospheric sampling from Torres del Paine research. Data from 1984 showed that Pb concentrations in Acrocladium auriculatum moss were some of the lowest reported in scientific literature. However, moss Pb concentrations have increased since 1984. Lead concentrations in 1984 were less than 0.3 PPM but by 1997 and 2001 concentrations were up to 2 PPM. Lead concentrations in moss from these monitoring sites were strongly correlated with tourist usage and vehicle traffic in the park. Tourism has increased from less than 4,000 visitors in 1983 to over 60,000 in 2001. The number of vehicles entering the park increased from less than 1500 in 1983 to over 9,000 in 1998. The data suggest that increasing gas exhaust emission from leaded gas run engines as a result of the increasing tourist traffic could explain the dramatic increase in moss Pb contamination.