Accumulation of chromium and copper by the aquatic mossfontinalis antipyreticaL. ex hedw transplanted in a metal‐contaminated river

Tufts of the aquatic moss Fontinalis antipyretica L. ex Hedw. were transplanted at five sites of a river receiving intermittent chromium and copper pollution. They were sampled four, nine, sixteen and thirty‐one days later and analysed for their chromium and copper concentrations. Transplanted mosses did not reach the same level of contamination as indigenous mosses (600 μg g‐1 vs 2000 μg g‐1 for chromium and 75 μg g‐1 vs 93 μg g‐1 for copper) but accumulated within nine days enough chromium and copper (274 and 15 μg g‐1, respectively) to clearly show the impact, (i.e. bioavailability) of the effluents along the river. An ultrastructural study revealed electron dense bodies in the cell wall and in the vacuoles.