As you can see, having a moss wall nearby can do a world of good for your lungs. They created three different workspaces: one with flowers and plants, one with a sculpture, and one area with no decorative embellishments. After having research participants work in all three environments, they found that both men and women demonstrated more innovative thinking and solved more problems while they worked in the space that included flowers and plants.
Another study performed by Dr. Virginia Lohr of Washington State University measured stress levels in employees at different workstations. She found that participants working in environments with plants were 12 per cent less stressed than participants working at workstations without plants. Time and again, researchers find that the presence of plants in workplaces decreases overall stress among employees. Since moss is colonised by bacteria that subsists on the decomposition of organic substances, it can effectively reduce airborne dust.
Airborne dust can contain a variety of potentially dangerous contaminants such as aerosols from cleaners, smoke particles, chemical dust, moulds, and fumes. Introducing moss into a room helps you to exercise more control over airborne dust. The soluble inorganic components of the airborne dust are absorbed and metabolised, effectively eliminated from the air. People have long used foliage to reduce noise and create more peaceful environments.
The same principles apply with moss walls. Vegetation naturally blocks high-frequency sounds while the supporting structure diminishes low-frequency noises. Some studies have shown that plants can reduce ambient noises in offices by as much as 5 decibels. The presence of plants in your living and working quarters has been known to reduce dry skin. Hydrated skin not only helps us to look healthier and avoid wrinkles, but it also helps our wounds to heal faster.
We feel healthier in general and avoid the itching and scratching that accompany dry skin. During the winter, moss walls provide an added layer of insulation to indoor areas, and this also reduces heating costs.
Burton, M. Fernandez, J. Garty, J. Markert, B. Total Environ. Mulgrew, A. Prasad, M. Raeymaekers, G. Hungaria 35 , — Sidhu, M. Vasconcelos, M. Wittig, R. Zambrano, A. Download references. Anja H. Tremper, M. Agneta, S. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to Anja H. Reprints and Permissions.
Tremper, A. J Atmos Chem 49, — Map of the Girona area covered by the moss monitoring; observed sites are marked in yellow; map source:. Other selection criteria for the sites were: 1 non-smoking household, 2 accessible balcony to deploy outdoor moss, 3 not using gas for cooking, as this may affect indoor pollutants concentration and 4 located on a first or second floor to keep the sampling height constant.
To achieve the goal of 20 locations, criteria 3 and 4 were slightly relaxed e. A series of indoor data were evaluated e. However, these data were not available consistently for all flats. Therefore, these data could not be used for statistical analyses, however for the explanation of one or the other surprising result.
Outdoor mosses were placed at a sheltered location, such as under the roof of the balcony. This placement should avoid any wet deposition rain deriving from long-range transport as well as a potential washout of already deposited dry particles. In cases where optimal locations were more exposed to weather, an acrylic roof was fixed on top of the moss frame, using double-sided tape. NO 2 -samplers were placed at the moss frame see Figs. The exposure period was 8 weeks, between May 5th , and, July 4th, The digestion was performed applying a microwave program employing maximum microwave power of W.
After cooling, the digested samples were transferred to PP-vials and filled up to 10 ml with ultra-pure water. Microwave digestion blanks were prepared using ultra-pure water. The acid content matched the content in the respective samples. TM Sample gas and auxiliary gas flows were set to 1. During all measurements, In was used as an internal standard at all resolutions. Calibrants, QC standards, blanks, and reference materials were included.
Trueness was assessed by measuring the certified reference material TM The measured concentrations agreed with the certified concentrations within their uncertainty. Table 1 gives the excellent procedural limits of detection obtained by replicate bank digestions proving the method fit for purpose.
The nitrogen dioxide was analysed colorimetrically with the method described by Atkins et al. The influence of sites on the various components was calculated as well. These tests and their graphical outcomes were performed by using Statgraphics Metals and NO 2 , both in indoor and outdoor samples, were correlated by Spearman rank test.
For comparing outdoor and indoor concentrations, a nonparametric test for paired samples Wilcoxon sign-rank test was applied. Pre-exposure element concentrations of four subsamples of the moss-material are shown in Table 1.
Post-exposure element concentrations of mosses in indoor and corresponding outdoor locations are given in Table 2. Pt was below the level of detection LOD in most of the cases, therefore, excluded from further evaluation. Except for As in indoor samples, post-exposure concentrations were higher than in the pre-exposure analyses, in all elements, and both in indoor and outdoor moss samples. For outdoor mosses, the loss of As observed indoors was masked by outdoor deposition.
The loss of As during the sampling period might be a result of its anionic form, which cannot be bound permanently by the cationic exchange capacities of the moss. Given the loss of As in moss samples, we excluded this element from further analysis, too. Mean SD concentration NO 2 in outdoor environments was NO 2 concentrations ranged outdoors from 9.
Correlation coefficients between all elements can be seen in Table 3 for outdoor and in Table 4 for indoor measurements. For outdoor environments, most remarkable were the high correlations all above 0.
More correlations can be seen in Tables 3 and 4. The only significant correlation of NO 2 with any of the analysed elements was for Sb in outdoor environments 0. In principal component analysis PCA for outdoor mosses, component one Sites component weight 3. A different picture was given for indoor mosses. Sites 3. As there is only little difference between component weights on axis 1 and 2 the indoor PCA has to be taken with caution. Principal component analysis of outdoor mosses and sites autocorrelated elements were excluded ; for site numbers refer to Table 2.
Principal component analysis of indoor mosses and sites autocorrelated elements were excluded ; for site numbers refer to Table 2.
Correlations between indoor and outdoor concentrations of the different elements in moss at the same site were not significant Table 5. The highest correlation was observed for Sn Spearman Rho 0. Correlation between indoor and outdoor concentrations of NO 2 in air was not either significant. On average, outdoor concentrations were slightly higher than indoor concentrations for all elements and NO 2 as well as at each location. In the case of Sn and Sb, this was true at all 20 sites.
For all other elements, indoor concentrations were higher in, on average, However, those ratios were mostly close to unity as well. Only in the case of Cd, values varied much more widely 0. Ratios were lowest for Sb mean 0.
The ratio for NO 2 had a wide variability 0. Comparing initial concentrations before exposure with concentrations after exposure Tables 1 and 2 , elevated loads of metals were found in all outdoor mosses. There were significant correlations between Cr, Mo, Sb, and Sn in moss and traffic densities based on the data set at hand, evaluated by Rivera et al.
There were significant correlations between these metals and average daily traffic r : 0. Sites with high traffic densities reflect this scheme as well see Fig. It can be concluded that at least Sb, Sn, Cr, and Mo reflect emissions from road traffic, a finding confirmed in other studies from urban environments [ 17 , 30 , 31 ]. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations have been widely used as indicators for traffic-related air pollution [ 32 , 33 ].
There were significant correlations between NO 2 and Sb concentrations in our outdoor moss samples 0. With outdoor NO 2 being dominated by traffic in the city of Girona, our data confirm the use of Sb as another marker of local traffic-related pollutants. In Table 7 , concentrations in moss-samplers of equivalent exposure periods as reported in other studies are compared with our results. This table should be interpreted with caution as absolute contents of metals in transplanted mosses may not be comparable in different studies because initial contents could be different.
Nevertheless, it gives an approximative overview of pollution loads in various cities. Concentrations found at the Girona site were comparably lower than in other cities shown in this table.
This discrepancy is probably caused by lower pollution levels in the rather small city of Girona e. Additionally, moss-samplers were exposed to different heights in the listed cities. Lacic et al. Our exposure sites had an average height of 8. Different elements showed different concentrations in indoor and outdoor environments see Table 5.
Overall, outdoor contents were much stronger intercorrelated than indoor contents Tables 3 , 4. Thus, outdoor sources of pollution determined more strongly the metal contents in moss than indoor sources. The scarcity correlations between metal contents indoors may suggest that indoor sources were more diffuse, although more or less identifiable.
Sb mean 0. This ratio suggests that, for these elements, outdoor sources of pollution were much more important than indoor sources. Both elements derive mainly from traffic emissions, especially abrasions of brake-wear Sb and car-bodies Sn [ 17 , 36 , 37 ]. Traffic is also a source for Cr and Mo, whose outdoor contents were intercorrelated Table 3. Compared to urban sites in Capozzi et al. This low ratio suggests an even stronger contribution from outdoor sources than in our study or an influence of measurement error in our small study.
They state traffic as the main driver for Cr, too. Other elements Cd, Zn and NO 2 showed ratios closer to the unit. These cases suggest equilibrium between outdoor and indoor concentrations of atmospheric pollutants Table 6. Cd values mean ratio 0. For NO 2 mean ratio 0.
Given the limited sample with only 20 sites, the study focused on sites with supposedly no indoor sources. Preselection criteria of monitoring sites included no smoking homes and predominantly no gas stoves or open fires at the exposure rooms. Results indicate that some sites were indeed influenced by indoor NO 2 sources such as gas cooking and smoking.
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