Soil enzyme activities and moss biomonitoring as complementary bioindicators of environmental status and toxic and potentially toxic element contamination in a karst cave and its catchment: Brestovská Cave, Slovakia

A new study on Brestovská Cave, Slovakia, reveals that soil enzyme activities and moss biomonitoring are effective complementary bioindicators for assessing environmental status and toxic/potentially toxic element (TPTE) contamination. The research found two distinct gradients: a natural gradient where lithophile elements remain below world-soil averages and enzyme activities decline towards the cave's aphotic interior due to oligotrophy, rather than contamination; and an anthropogenic gradient where cadmium consistently exceeds Slovak statutory limits but shows no clear external input signal, while selenium exhibits strong enrichment and variability, indicating localized external contamination. Mercury at the resurgence also signals local pollution. Despite moderate ecological risk (ERI = 212), screening-level health risks for visitors were deemed acceptable (HI ≤ 0.59; As-CR ≤ 8.3 × 10⁻⁶). The study highlights the importance of reference choice in interpreting TPTE data and underscores the utility of moss biomonitoring alongside soil enzyme analysis.

Bobuľská, L., Demková, L., Beheshti, M., Višňovská, Z., Lošák, T., Jančo, I., & Árvay, J. (2026). Soil enzyme activities and moss biomonitoring as complementary bioindicators of environmental status and toxic and potentially toxic element contamination in a karst cave and its catchment: Brestovská Cave, Slovakia. Catena, 274, 110585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2026.110585