Heavy metal depositions in Austria (collection 2005)

The report “Heavy metal depositions in Austria” shows the concentrations of toxicologically relevant elements in moss and concludes from this their input from the atmosphere. Since 1991, samples have been collected and analysed every five years at 220 sites in the federal territory. The 2005 report on collection includes the atmospheric inputs for 14 metals as well as for nitrogen and sulphur. Regionally elevated values of individual elements can be found in the Lower Inn Valley, in the Rhine Valley, around Treibach-Althofen and Reutte. Since 1995, there have been significant reductions in the deposition of lead (-56 %), vanadium (-32 %), chromium (-21 %) or nickel (-17 %), but also local increases in individual elements. The report is a contribution to the monitoring of UNECE vegetation within the framework of CLRTAP (Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution).