To compare three biomonitoring techniques for assessing nitrogen (N) pollution in Germany, 326 lichen, 153 moss and 187 bark samples were collected from 16 sites of the national N deposition monitoring network. The analysed ranges of N content of all investigated biomonitors (0.32%–4.69%) and the detected δ15N values (−15.2‰–1.5‰), made it possible to reveal species specific spatial patterns of N concentrations in biota to indicate atmospheric N deposition in Germany. The comparison with measured and modelled N deposition data shows that particularly lichens are able to reflect the local N deposition originating from agriculture.

Activity concentrations of 137Cs were detected in more than 400 outer spruce bark samples collected at sites variably affected by Chernobyl fallout across the Czech Republic in 1995 and 2010. The temporal changes in the 137Cs activities were found. The mean effective half-life (TEF) for 137Cs in spruce bark was 9.6 years, and the mean environmental half-life (TE) was 14 years. The effective half-lives were significantly higher in areas with higher long-term annual precipitation sums. Coefficient a in linear regression y = ax + b of half-lives on precipitation sums was 0.015 y mm−1 for TEF and 0.036 y mm−1 for TE. The aggregated transfer factor of 137Cs from soil to bark was determined and the pre-Chernobyl bark contamination related to year 2010 was estimated.

The different barks were sampled to discuss the influence of the tree species, trunk circumference, and bark thickness on the accumulation processes of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from air into the bark. The results of different PBDE concentrations indicated that barks with a thickness of 0–3 mm collected from weeping willow, Camphor tree, and Masson pine, the trunk circumferences of which were 100 to 150 cm, were better PBDEs passive samplers. Furthermore, tree bark and the corresponding air samples were collected at Anji (AJ), Hangzhou (HZ), Shanghai (SH), and Wenling (WL) to investigate the relationship between the PBDE concentrations in bark and those in air. In addition, the significant correlation (r² = 0.906; P < 0.05) indicated that atmospheric PBDEs were the principle source for the accumulation of PBDEs in the barks. In this study, the log K BA (bark–air partition coefficient) of individual PBDE congeners at the four sites were in the range from 5.69 to 6.79. Finally, the total PBDE concentration in WL was 5 to 20 times higher than in the other three cities. The result indicated that crude household workshops contributed a heavy amount of PBDEs pollution to the environment, which had been verified by the spatial distribution of PBDEs levels in barks collected at Wenling (range, 26.53–1317.68 ng/g dw). The good correlation between the PBDE concentrations in the barks and the air samples and the variations of the PBDE concentrations in tree barks collected from different sites reflected that the bark could be used as a passive sampler to indicate the atmospheric PBDEs.

Pseudomorphs of barite (BaSO₄) and Cd-rich ZnS after whewellite (CaC₂O₄·H₂O) occur within remnants of Scots pine bark tissues in the peat layer of a poor fen located near a zinc smelter in south Poland. A two-step formation of the pseudomorphs is postulated based on SEM observations: (1) complete dissolution of whewellite, possibly caused by oxalotrophic bacteria, and (2) subsequent bacterially induced precipitation of barite and spheroidal aggregates of ZnS together with galena (PbS) in voids left by the dissolved whewellite crystals. Local increase in pH due to microbial degradation of whewellite, elevated concentrations of Zn(II) and Ba(II) in pore water due to the decomposition of atmospheric particles of sphalerite and barite in the acidic (pH 3.5–3.8) environment, oxidation of S species during drying and rewetting of the peat layer, and subsequent partial reduction of sulfate anions by sulfur-reducing bacteria were all factors likely involved in the crystallization of ZnS and barite in the microenvironment of the post-whewellite voids.

A large number of filter materials, organic and inorganic, for removal of heavy metals in mine drainage have been reviewed. Bark, chitin, chitosan, commercial ion exchangers, dairy manure compost, lignite, peat, rice husks, vegetal compost, and yeast are examples of organic materials, while bio-carbons, calcareous shale, dolomite, fly ash, limestone, olivine, steel slag materials and zeolites are examples of inorganic materials. The majority of these filter materials have been investigated in laboratory studies, based on various experimental set-ups (batch and/or column tests) and different conditions. A few materials, for instance steel slag materials, have also been subjects to field investigations under real-life conditions. The results from these investigations show that steel slag materials have the potential to remove heavy metals under different conditions. Ion exchange has been suggested as the major metal removal mechanisms not only for steel slag but also for lignite. Other suggested removal mechanisms have also been identified. Adsorption has been suggested important for activated carbon, precipitation for chitosan and sulphate reduction for olivine. General findings indicate that the results with regard to metal removal vary due to experimental set ups, composition of mine drainage and properties of filter materials and the discrepancies between studies renders normalisation of data difficult. However, the literature reveals that Fe, Zn, Pb, Hg and Al are removed to a large extent. Further investigations, especially under real-life conditions, are however necessary in order to find suitable filter materials for treatment of mine drainage.

Phytoremediation is an environmental friendly, cost-effective technology for a soft restoration of abandoned mine sites. The grasses Agrostis capillaris, Deschampsia flexuosa and Festuca rubra, and the annual herb Helianthus annuus were combined with microbial consortia in pot experiments on multi-metal polluted substrates collected at a former uranium mine near Ronneburg, Germany, and a historic copper mine in Kopparberg, Sweden, to test for phytoextraction versus phytostabilization abilities. Metal uptake into plant biomass was evaluated to identify optimal plant–microbe combinations for each substrate. Metal bioavailability was found to be plant species and element specific, and influenced by the applied bacterial consortia of 10 strains, each isolated from the same soil to which it was applied. H. annuus showed high extraction capacity for several metals on the German soil independent of inoculation. Our study could also show a significant enhancement of extraction for F. rubra and A. capillaris when combined with the bacterial consortium, although usually grasses are considered metal excluder species. On the Swedish mixed substrate, due to its toxicity, with 30 % bark compost, A. capillaris inoculated with the respective consortium was able to extract multi-metal contaminants.

Contamination of the environment due to mining and mineral processing is an urgent problem worldwide. It is often desirable to establish a grass cover on old mine waste since it significantly decreases the production of leachates. To obtain sustainable growth, it is often necessary to improve several properties of the waste such as water-holding capacity, nutrient status, and toxicity. This can be done by addition of organic materials such as wood residues, e.g., compost. In this study, we focus on the solution chemistry of the leachates when a substrate containing historic sulfidic mine waste mixed with 30 % (volume) bark compost is overgrown by Agrostis capillaris. The pot experiments also included other growth-promoting additives (alkaline material, mycorrhiza, and metabolizable carbon) to examine whether a more sustainable growth could be obtained. Significant changes in the plant growth and in the leachates composition were observed during 8 weeks of growth. It was concluded that in this time span, the growth of A. capillaris did not affect the composition of the leachates from the pots. Instead, the composition of the leachates was determined by interactions between the bark compost and the mine waste. Best growth of A. capillaris was obtained when alkaline material and mycorrhiza or metabolizable carbon was added to the substrate.