Bromeliads that live in the canopy of tropical forests have little dependence on soil for nutrients. They have developed efficient strategies like tank structures to capture nutrients from air, water, and debris. This allows them to obtain essential nutrients even during periods of scarcity. Bromeliads reflect the atmospheric conditions in tropical forests through the chemical composition accumulated in their tissues from nutrients in rainfall, particles, and debris. They can be useful for monitoring environmental quality by accumulating trace elements and toxins that are transported by wind from sources like industry.

1. Bromeliad living in canopy of tropical and cloudy forest has little or none dependency for
acquire nutrients from soil. Some elements are essential for survival, so an efficient adaptive strategies
for trapping and accumulate elements directly from air moisture and particles are developed to
assurance the availability of nutrients, even is periods of scarcity. Some nutrients naturally abundant on
environment, derived from rainfall, deposition of particulates and falling debris on dossel, are required
to growth and physiological requirements. Bromeliads tank body-types is a structural adaptation for
capturing and assimilation of elements dissolved in rainwater and uptake falling organic debris (Oliveira,
2004), and others specialized structure that facility the absorbing of water and nutrients load, as
specialized scales around surface leaf to increasing area to bulk ratio to humidity and suspended particle
matter ( ). Essential and available nutrients as phosphorus are needed to consumption to current
metabolism, taken up by developing bromeliads leaves or reallocate to reserve (Winkler & Zotz, 2009).
On this way, chemical composition in bromeliads reflects the atmospheric conditions in tropical forest,
as seen in conservation units (Elias et al. 2008). Besides, bromeliads without or less interation with soil
developed the CAM Metabolic Pathway, an adaptive response to allow economic nutrients and water
application to generate ATP and biomass, to ensure the survival on tropical forest dossel ( ).
In spite of different preference to acquisition of nutrients and pollutants from air because of
nutritional requirements, others vegetal than bromeliads have been employee to monitoring
environment quality in vicinity of industrial sources and well-know polluted megacities around world,
transport of toxic elements by wind currents (Saiki 2001) or chlorosis and necrosis indicators to ozone
and fluorine emission in lichens (Klumpp et al., 2001), and also through Tobacco leaves (Domingos et
al, ), as well as micromorphological signal in pollen of Tradescantia genus exposed these same pollutants
() and Lolium genus (). Biomonitoring range of wind-transport to contaminants includes pristine areas,
priorities do conservation efforts (). In studies of monitoring air polluting Tillandsia genus are most used
worldwide, whereas transplant of Tillandsia usneoides have been employee in urban localities (Viana et
al., 2001; Figueiredo et al, 2007) and in mining tailing exposed to wind (Pitassi et al., 2009), and inside
chloro-alcali plants (Olaf & Malm, 1997). Collecting of others native bromeliads species showed be
useful to generate available data reflecting field exposure to contamination from atmospheric route,
through the accumulation of trace elements (Cortés, 2004; Graciano et al., 2003; Elias et al., 2008) and
physiological responses to injuries (Gonzalo & Pignata, 2011; Pignata et al. 2010).
The advantage of introducing bromeliads to monitoring purpose is estimating the degree of
deposition of chemical contamination and so on quantitative estimates of chemical concentration,
though the results obtained not measure total exposure along the period, only a relative concentration
(Steinnes, 1995). Some limitations the complexity of types of chemical linkages of trace and major
elements inner of tissues of bromeliads leaves featuring the difference of the capacity of retention and
accumulation along the time. As well as chemical affinity, the reallocation of elements through vegetal

2. body varies for each bromeliad species, accumulation in mature leaves. For example, both
macronutrients Ca and K, show different mobility and preferences between young-mature leaves. In the
other hand, Zn and Fe are less abundant on medium, but required to regulatory functions in vegetal and
enriched in older parts of vegetal. The Br is not-essential, so show small concentration in leaves tissues,
such as not well-defined distribution pattern between the tissues (Elias et al., 2009).
Researching about useful species of tropical epiphyte as standard tolls for monitoring impacts
from natural and anthropogenic atmospheric input of trace-metal in Mata Atlântica region was
demonstrated with the bromeliad Canistropsis billbergioides (L.). C. billbergioides was collected to
monitoring pollutants derived-wind transport, through chemical contents accumulates in tissues (Elias
et al. 2005). A diversity of bromeliads can be found in Mata Atlântica biome in Ilha Grande, Southern
coast of Rio de Janeiro State, in according to Nunes-Freitas et al. (2009). Chemical determination of
leaves of bromeliads collected in Ilha Grande therefore can be interesting to understanding the actual
degree of wind-transport impact from continent sources of trace and major elements in some places
along Ilha Grande coast. The actual results of deposition in bromeliads leaves from previous surveys in
Ilha Grande can be compared to detecting temporal variation and, if possible, these causes related to
some anthropogenic or natural, punctual or diffuse local or continental sources. Furthermore, was
sampled some genus of tropical bromeliads tissues to know better about differentiation on efficiency of
assimilation of metals, for environmental air route from distant or local source, and can be identified
better tool for air pollution monitoring survey. In according to Zamboni-Mello et al (2008), south-coast
of Ilha Grande is impacted by transport of air pollution because high levels recorded for some trace
elements comparing to baseline concentration of others localities. On this way, content of airborne
matter in vegetal tissues features variance on anthropogenic metal in relation to distance for known
fixed and mobile source on continent that can employee to characterization of impact degree and also
tested to be used in future air monitoring programs.
Elias, C.; De Nadai Fernandes, E. A.; França, E. J.; Bacchi, M. A. 2005. Bromélia epífita
Canistropsis billbergioides acumuladora de elementos químicos para biomonitoração na Mata Atlântica
Elias C., Fernandes E. A. N., França E. J., Bacchi M. A. 2009. Chemical Changes in Bromeliads
Leaves at Different Vegetative Stages. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, v. 282, (1), p.
111-115

3. Elias C., E. A. N. Fernandes, França E. J., Bacchi M. A., Tagliaferro F. S. 2008. Native Bromeliads as
Biomonitors of Airborne Chemical Elements in a Brazilian Resting Forest. Journal of Radioanalytical and
Nuclear Chemistry, v. 278, (2), 423-427
Bermudez G. M. A. and Pignata M. L. 2011. Antioxidant Response of Three Tillandsia Species
Transplanted to Urban, Agricultural, and Industrial Areas. Archives of Environmental Contamination and
Toxicology, v. 61, (3), 401-413.