< Terug naar vorige pagina

Project

Bryophyte diversity along altitudinal gradient in the Virunga region and evaluation of their heavy metal bioaccumulation potential

The recent eruption of Nyiragongo offers a rare case study of early land re-colonisation by pioneer species, within which bryophytes play a major role. However the whole region’s bryoflora is very poorly known. Also, the volcano flumes containing heavy metals are regularly hitting the city of Goma, leading to potential agricultural and human health issues.
The first step of this research project will be to study the bryophytes populations of Mount Nyiragongo along its altitudinal gradient (from 1600 to 3400m) in order to describe their diversity, characterize their ecology (micro-habitat) and measure the relative heavy metal accumulation in their tissues, using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES).
Simulateously soil samples will also be gathered at each sampling site in order to later measure the pH and heavy metals concentrations.
Finally the biomonitoring potential of bryophytes will be evalutated leading to following projects investigating biomimetic approaches to use bryophytes as active heavy metal biomonitoring.
Datum:28 jun 2020 →  Heden
Trefwoorden:B270-plantenecologie, B290-fytogeografie