Why do lichens make good biomonitors

The Principal Component Analysis showed differences among sampling sites according to human activities respect to the special protected areas. Aluminium, Cr, Hg, Pb and Se concentrations are linked local waste burning, global inputs, and the melt-water processes, while Br and Se were associated with marine biogenic cycle.

This information could be a valuable tool for future atmospheric studies. Lichenized fungi lichens are well known as biomonitor organisms used to evaluate the air quality. The lack of a wax cuticle and stomata allows to nutrients and contaminants to be absorbed over the whole surface. The absorbed elements can be taken from the dry and wet deposition and by short and long-range transport [].

The use of new materials of technologic application nanoparticles , plus the increment of industrial and population development, and the effects of global warming could improve the transport, deposition and availability of pollutants. On the other hand, the increase of global temperature is heterogeneous and it occurs more rapidly in Antarctic and Arctic Continents [5]. Actually, it will need to extend the knowledge about the background levels of more elements as control tools due to those are being released to the environment [8].

For this reason, to expand the knowledge about the elements present in Polar Regions represents a safeguard for the future. The Antarctic Protocol provided strict environmental management and protection guidelines, and established the obligation to clean-up abandoned work sites.

Also, establishes principles for planning and conducting of all Antarctic activities. However, the local impacts due to the increasing of human presence seem inevitable [1]. Element determination, concentration levels and potential toxicity, in key species are very important in order to understand and to elucidate the impact on the Antarctic terrestrial ecosystem.

Species of the genus Usnea has a wide distribution around the world including Antarctica and they have frequently used as bioindicator of presence of elements and compounds [1]. The element contents in lichens from Antarctica are widely reported in the literature, in particular several works reported the elemental composition in lichens from 25 de Mayo King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica [2,9,10].

However, the information about more elements and their concentrations in Antarctic lichens is still insufficient [11].

During three Antarctic summer campaigns, lichens sampling in Potter Peninsula located in 25 de Mayo King George Island were made with the aim to evaluate the effects of human presence in the area and the coastline ecosystems. In the present work the concentration of 27 elements in lichens of the third last campaign are reported in order to identify the elements associated with the anthropic source or biogeochemical process.

Those results were compared with our previous data. On the coastline, an area specially protected width ca. The morphology of Potter Peninsula is characterized by a glacial landscape with steep cliffs in parts of the along the coast and in the interior, the countryside flat hilly stand out a protruding andesitic columns named Tres Hermanos hill m.

The geology is dominated by Tertiary effusive basalt-andesite and related pyroclastic rocks. The climate conditions are characteristic of marine Antarctic weather average annual temperature of 2. The development of Antarctic terrestrial biotic communities is mainly limited by the freshwater availability, low temperatures and limited photoperiod [1].

Therefore, few groups of organisms can colonize or survive in this area; most of them are lichens and bryophytes that grow on the ice-free coastal areas rocks and soil during summer [14]. The ASPA, protected area is characterized as a wilderness representative area with high biological diversity and richness, which includes penguin colonies, elephant seals and sea lions, and skuas and petrels in the elevated zone, as well as dominant lichens in rocky formations of the highest sites and close to the beach Figure 1.

Saxicolous and terricolous lichens were collected during austral summer since to , at eight different sites of Potter Peninsula Figure 1. The sampled material was based on the availability of access and the possibility to evaluate anthropic impact [10]. According to the different human activities, three sites were considered: Carlini Station S1 , heliport S2 and water dam S4 ; intermediate points to the east S3 close to the Tres Hermanos hill, and S5 at the southeast of Carlini Station close to Warszawa Icefield.

Lichens were collected by random walk method and surface soils were taken at 2 to 3 cm deep nearby of the lichens. For the collection, plastic spoons, latex gloves and titanium and Teflon devices were used.

Prior to the elemental analysis, a fraction of lichen specimens were separated for identification. Each sample was made up at least by 10 dried thalli that were ground and homogenate. Specimens were examined and identified using a stereo dissecting microscope Olympus SZ30 and a light microscope Leitz Laborlux All measurements were made in water [15,16].

The elemental concentrations were determined using the absolute parametric method. Analytical errors were computed as the propagation of the uncertainties associated with the nuclear parameters, and the efficiency of the gamma ray detection system. The IAEA Lichen Reference Material was analysed together with the samples, for analytical quality control QC showing good agreement with the recommended certified values. When the concentration of an element was below the detection limit, one third of this value was used for statistical analysis and descriptive purposes.

Data were analysed using a multivariate statistical method. Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering AHC based on Spearman correlation coefficient over the element concentrations in the lichens was used in order to evaluate comparatively the elemental composition in each sites S1-S8 with respect to the lichen habitus e.

The dendrogram was based on Similitude Index with average link method. A lithophile element e. REE was used as geochemical tracers GT for the discrimination of the elements associated with geological particulate material PM from the soil entrapped in the thalli.

They are used to quantify the contribution of detrital compounds associated with the PM to the overall composition of the thalli for differentiating the possible sources of contribution of elements. This was made by using correlation matrix and linear regressions based on the Pearson test. The EF allows the comparison of the sample with the composition of the substratum [18].

This factor was estimated for all lichen samples and each element X discriminated by collection site, according to:. The EF x values greater than 1 indicates that the element in the lichen is enriched compared to the substrate. In this work, an element was considered enriched when EF x values were greater than or equal to [5].

Pollution Load Index PLI was used to assess the environmental quality of the area, and it represent one specific site.

The formula used by [20], takes into account the load of all elements given by:. CF x is the ratio between the concentration of X element in the lichen and the concentration of the same element in the control site.

Key provided in the chapter will help beginners to identify some common lichen species based on the distribution in different climatic zones of India.

The section also provides comprehensive information about the bioindicator communities and bioindicator species. Monitoring the quality and sustainability of the ecosystem with lichens has been studied worldwide.

Three major categories of assessment that have been identified so far for the role of lichens in ecosystem monitoring include air quality, climate and biodiversity. With increasing economic growth, environmental contamination, especially air pollution, is resulting in environmental degradation in the developing nations of Asia, especially India. In order to attain sustainable economic development, monitoring and eradication of environmental problems is important.

The highest priority issues include monitoring of the quality of air, water and soil, deforestation and degradation of the natural environment. Lichens also meet other characteristics of the ideal sentinel organism: they are long lived, having wide geographical distribution, and accumulate and retain many trace elements to concentrations that highly exceed their physiological requirements.

The details of the factors affecting the ecosystem, natural as well as anthropogenic, and role of lichens in ecosystem monitoring have been discussed. Since lichens are widely known for their high sensitivity towards environmental disturbances, both natural and human origin. Therefore, environmental changes result in alteration of habitats and ecosystems at local, regional as well as global scale resulting in loss of lichen biodiversity; extinction of sensitive species invasion of thermophilic species towards higher latitudes.

Such changes can be best monitored by lichens as biomonitors. Lichens as indicators possess an undeniable appeal for conservationists and land managers as they provide a cost- and time-efficient means to assess the impact of environmental disturbances on an ecosystem.

Information collected with different aims, such as air pollution, climate change, biodiversity and forest continuity studies, may be utilised for conservation purposes. This chapter discusses the need and utility of indicator species especially lichen biomonitoring data in sustainable forest management and conservation. Title Lichens to Biomonitor the Environment. Print ISBN Electronic ISBN Authors: Vertika Shukla Upreti D.

Rajesh Bajpai. In , 11 European scientists met to develop a single protocol, defined on a sampling strategy in accordance with statistical rules and avoiding any subjectivity of the observer. Nitrogen oxide pollution favours the development of more or less nitrophilous species, at the expense of acidophilic species. Figure 6. Photo Physcia adscendens. Asta] Nitrogen dioxide NO 2 pollution from motor traffic has been studied in the Grenoble region Figure 6 and a scale of 3 lichen-sensitivity classes has been established.

An identical methodology has been established for ozone for which a sensitivity scale of 4 classes has been established in the Grenoble region [10] , in Switzerland and also in the USA Ohio …. Figure 7. Decrease in the fluorine concentration of various lichens measured in the Maurienne Valley Savoie between and Hypogymnia physodes , a foliose lichen, and Pseudevernia furfuracea , a fruticulose lichen [Source: Adapted from ref. Remy] Lichens are tested for accumulated pollutants bioaccumulators lichens or physiological or cellular effects biomarkers lichens.

The accumulation of fluoride emitted by aluminium plants in the Alpine valleys was particularly sought after by lichens in the s and s. The work made it possible to highlight the distribution of fluoride in space maps and time Figure 7. Figure 8. Harvesting of Cladonia stellaris contaminated with atmospheric iron from mining operations Quebec, Canada.

Agnello] Similarly, lichens allow the accumulation of metallic trace elements to be monitored. The detection of pollution due to road traffic by lead has been extensively studied in the Paris region in northern France or by other metals in the Pyrenees [12], the Alps or other regions of the world Figure 8.

Atmospheric mercury deposition from a chlor-alkali plant was measured in Xanthoria parietina. The results showed that mercury concentrations decreased as one moved away from the plant with a contamination radius of 2 km Figure 9.

Figure 9. Mercury concentrations in soils and lichens around the Jarrie Chlor-Alcali plant after Ref. This work has led to the development of a strategy to be followed when using bioindicators such as lichens to assess environmental pollution by persistent organic pollutants in the atmosphere.

Radioactive elements can also accumulate in lichens. The first work was carried out in the s and s, during which nuclear tests were carried out mainly in the former USSR and the fallout of radioelements into the atmosphere mainly 90 Sr and Cs was analysed.

After the Chernobyl accident, reindeer herds were contaminated as a result of the ingestion of lichens contaminated with radioactive elements. In order to prevent the human population that consumed reindeer meat from becoming contaminated in turn, entire herds were slaughtered.

In areas where lichens are rare or absent, the transplant technique [18] can be applied effectively, especially in the case of corticose lichens. Indeed, it can be used for air pollution monitoring, for example in household waste landfill sites. It describes the method to be used for sampling and preparing in situ lichen samples for the bioaccumulation of substances characterizing air pollution.

At sea, various pollutants such as hydrocarbons and anionic surfactants spread by forming a thin film of a few micrometers on the sea surface. On the coast, pollutants can reach lichens that show various types of damage. Lichens can be used as bioindicators and bioaccumulators of marine aerosol pollution on the Mediterranean coast. Figure Lichens in water. Left: Dermatocapon luridum ; right: Vezdaea leprosa. Lagrandie] Lichens such as Dermatocarpon luridum are used as bioaccumulators of metallic elements in water Figure 10A.

Some tolerant soil lichens can grow on soils containing metallic elements and are therefore indicative of the presence of these metals. Thus Diploschistes muscorum , Cladonia and Stereocaulon , among others, tolerate high levels of metals in the soil. Vezdaea leprosa is a species particularly vulnerable to the presence of zinc because it is often found near road safety zinc slides.

Figure 10B. Left, Lichen Biodiversity Map a calculated by adding the frequency values of all lichens recorded in a 10 unit sampling grid and b lung cancer mortality map for young male residents expressed as expected x in the Veneto region, Italy. In a given region, the abundance of lichens indicates good air and environmental quality and therefore few or no pollutants, while when lichen vegetation is scarce, it is a sign of poor air and environmental quality linked to the presence of atmospheric pollutants, which can lead to disturbances to human health and poor living conditions.

Air and environmental quality links lichen vegetation to health impacts, often related to the social conditions of the population. Health problems or socio-economic conditions can be identified through lichens. Hence the interest of the work carried out on lichens. Two examples support this proposition:. Cover image. Platismatia glauca A foliose thallus species growing on branches and trunks of deciduous and coniferous trees; it seeks a humid atmosphere and light. Avoids pollution.

Frequent from collinean to subalpine. Schmidt, p. Rose, F. Nature , , Thesis University Grenoble.