nitrogen, moss, atmospheric deposition, the Moravian Silesian borderlands

Mosses as biomonitors of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition were collected from 41 locations in the Moravian Silesian borderlands. Total N concentrations were determined via elemental analysis. Site-specific and local factors were investigated using geostatistical and statistical analyses at a local scale. To assess the correlation between moss N concentrations and chosen factors, Spearman Rank Correlation Analysis was used. Then Exploratory Regression was applied in order to find the factors explaining the spatial distribution pattern of N concentrations. The correlation analysis for the chosen factors showed the strongest correlation between the total N concentrations in mosses and the 7-day precipitation (r s = -0.54), the Forested land use within 0.5 km radius around the site (r s = -0.33) and the Agricultural land use within 0.5 km radius around the site and 1 km respectively (r s = 0.34 and r s = 0.31). The accurate regression model comprised four factors: the 7-day precipitation, the 3-month precipitation, Forested land use within 0.5 km radius and Agricultural land use within 0.5 km radius around the site, with calculated adjusted R-squared = 0.49. Analyses also identified the dependence of the total N concentration on the moss species but the statistical data set is considered too small to make further conclusions.