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Spatial dispersal of airborne pollutants and their effects on growth and viability of lichen transplants along a rural highway in Norway

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2014

Olena A. YEMETS ,
Knut Asbjørn SOLHAUG  and
Yngvar GAUSLAA
Olena A. YEMETS
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway. Email: yngvar.gauslaa@nmbu.no
Knut Asbjørn SOLHAUG
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway. Email: yngvar.gauslaa@nmbu.no
Yngvar GAUSLAA*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway. Email: yngvar.gauslaa@nmbu.no
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Abstract

This study aims to quantify dispersal of airborne traffic-related elemental pollutants and concurring responses – relative growth rate (RGR), maximal quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm), and chlorophylls (Chl ab) – in four epiphytic lichens (Lobaria pulmonaria, Parmelia sulcata, Ramalina farinacea, Usnea dasopoga). Lichens were transplanted from 25 September to 26 March to 1·5 m tall stands in open farmlands at 10, 15, 30, 50 and 100 m from the E6 highway (SE Norway), along three transects on each side usnea dasopoga of the road. The concentrations of most elements (Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Al, Zn, Ba, Cu, V, Cr, Ni, Co, Sn, As, Mo) significantly increased with increasing proximity to the road. Elements in bold had elevated concentrations relative to controls, at least in some species at 100 m. The heavy metal accumulation increased from foliose to fruticose lichens in the order: P. sulcata>L. pulmonaria>R. farinacea≫U. dasopoga. However, L. pulmonaria was the only species with strong pollutant-dependent reductions in growth, Fv/Fm, Chl ab, and Chl a/b-ratio. The RGR and viability parameters were adversely affected by the roadside environment near the road only (≤15 m), and only after substantial heavy metal accumulation. Measurement of metal accumulation in lichens is thus a far more sensitive way of monitoring road pollutants than recording growth and lichen viability. Despite strong species-specific contrasts in elemental concentrations, most road pollutant elements responded similarly to distance from the road in all species.

Keywords

biomonitoringepiphytic lichensheavy metalsrelative growth ratesalt
Type
Articles
Information
The Lichenologist , Volume 46 , Issue 6 , November 2014 , pp. 809 - 823
Copyright
Copyright © British Lichen Society 2014 

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