105
Some terricolous (on land) and saxicolous (on stone, rock) lichen species
(Micarea confusa, Collemopsidium chlorococcum, Coppinsia minutissima) have
also proven themselves to be very good indicators of soil pollution caused by heavy
metals (Coppinis and Vаn den Boom 1995; Aptroot and Vаn den Boom 1998;
Lumbsch and Heibel 1998).
Comparative measurements of nitrogen concentration (N deposition) in the tissues of three bioindicator organisms – moss, lichen, and the bark of 18 different
plant species – have shown that all of these organisms, and especially lichens, are
very good indicators of nitrogen pollution and that they are cheap alternatives to the
expensive N waste measurement stations installed in Germany (for deposition measurements in Germany) (Boltersdorf et al. 2014).
4.2 Method of Lichen Indication of Air Quality
The sensitivity of lichens to the changes in air quality was noticed as early as 1866.
Nylander was the first to notice the property of lichens to react to harmful substances in the air, and he attributed this to the influence of factory smoke (Nylander
1866). Namely, it was noticed that the complete disappearance of lichens from the
Luxembourg Park in Paris is positively correlated with the expansion of the replacement of wood with coal as an energy source for heating households. It was noticed
that, in the 1970s and 1980s, in areas known for reduced air quality, lichens have
either completely disappeared or have had their composition radically altered. After
that, various analyses have pointed to the connection between air pollution and
lichen composition (Mayer et al. 2013), so scales of lichen resistance to air pollution
were formed. First such scale was formed by Hawksworth and Rose (Hawksworth
and Rose 1970).
During the nineteenth century, there was a decrease or complete disappearance
of lichens from urban parts of the cities. Immediately after that, independent
researches were carried out in England, Munich, and Paris with the goal of investigating the so-called European phenomenon of lichen disappearance (Nylander
1866; Аrnold 1900). It was noticed that, as a rule, in the city center, the number of
individual lichen as well as types of lichens is negligibly small in relation to the
environment, while in some industrial zones, lichens are completely absent. Such
observations have been linked to air pollution due to an increase in sulfur dioxide
concentrations. It has been experimentally proven that SO 2 (as one of the best studied pollutants) already in a concentration of 0.08–0.1 mg/m
3
of air begins to have a
negative effect on lichens, because it leads to the formation of brown fields in algae
chloroplasts which, after some time, causes necrosis and decay of the entire lichen
(Nash and Gries 2002). It has been established that, in the conditions of higher levels of SO 2 content as well as soot in the air, the rate of morbidity of the population
from respiratory diseases has increased, which can lead to death. Heart attack cases
were registered in parallel, as a result of a link between elevated SO 2 content and a
4 Lichens as the Main Indicator in Biological Monitoring of Air Quality
Some terricolous (on land) and saxicolous (on stone, rock) lichen species
(Micarea confusa, Collemopsidium chlorococcum, Coppinsia minutissima) have
also proven themselves to be very good indicators of soil pollution caused by heavy
metals (Coppinis and Vаn den Boom 1995; Aptroot and Vаn den Boom 1998;
Lumbsch and Heibel 1998).
Comparative measurements of nitrogen concentration (N deposition) in the tissues of three bioindicator organisms – moss, lichen, and the bark of 18 different
plant species – have shown that all of these organisms, and especially lichens, are
very good indicators of nitrogen pollution and that they are cheap alternatives to the
expensive N waste measurement stations installed in Germany (for deposition measurements in Germany) (Boltersdorf et al. 2014).
4.2 Method of Lichen Indication of Air Quality
The sensitivity of lichens to the changes in air quality was noticed as early as 1866.
Nylander was the first to notice the property of lichens to react to harmful substances in the air, and he attributed this to the influence of factory smoke (Nylander
1866). Namely, it was noticed that the complete disappearance of lichens from the
Luxembourg Park in Paris is positively correlated with the expansion of the replacement of wood with coal as an energy source for heating households. It was noticed
that, in the 1970s and 1980s, in areas known for reduced air quality, lichens have
either completely disappeared or have had their composition radically altered. After
that, various analyses have pointed to the connection between air pollution and
lichen composition (Mayer et al. 2013), so scales of lichen resistance to air pollution
were formed. First such scale was formed by Hawksworth and Rose (Hawksworth
and Rose 1970).
During the nineteenth century, there was a decrease or complete disappearance
of lichens from urban parts of the cities. Immediately after that, independent
researches were carried out in England, Munich, and Paris with the goal of investigating the so-called European phenomenon of lichen disappearance (Nylander
1866; Аrnold 1900). It was noticed that, as a rule, in the city center, the number of
individual lichen as well as types of lichens is negligibly small in relation to the
environment, while in some industrial zones, lichens are completely absent. Such
observations have been linked to air pollution due to an increase in sulfur dioxide
concentrations. It has been experimentally proven that SO 2 (as one of the best studied pollutants) already in a concentration of 0.08–0.1 mg/m
3
of air begins to have a
negative effect on lichens, because it leads to the formation of brown fields in algae
chloroplasts which, after some time, causes necrosis and decay of the entire lichen
(Nash and Gries 2002). It has been established that, in the conditions of higher levels of SO 2 content as well as soot in the air, the rate of morbidity of the population
from respiratory diseases has increased, which can lead to death. Heart attack cases
were registered in parallel, as a result of a link between elevated SO 2 content and a
4 Lichens as the Main Indicator in Biological Monitoring of Air Quality