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Use of new Indices for the Assessment of Air Quality in the Safi Region (Morocco) using Lichen Biomonitoring of Air Contamination by Trace Elements

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Abstract

This study aims to use environmental indices as complementary tools to other air quality biomonitoring techniques. The concentrations of trace elements Hg, Se, V, Mo, and Ba were analyzed by ICP-MS in four lichens: Xanthoria calcicola, Xanthoria parietina, Ramalina pollinaria, and Ramalina lacera. To assess the contamination of lichens by trace elements, different environmental indices were calculated: Contamination Index (Ic), Contamination Factor (CF), Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Enrichment Factor (EF). The results revealed that the genus Ramalina has a low tolerance to polymetallic pollution with a PLI not exceeding 0.44. The genus Xanthoria seems more resistant to polymetallic pollution with a maximum PLI of 2.58. The calculation of the enrichment factor revealed a very strong enrichment of the lichens in Mo, Hg and Se with a maximum content in Ba which reflects a strong metallic contamination of various origins especially in the urban and industrial areas of the region.

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Acknowledgements

We warmly thank the members of the French association of lichenology (AFL) for their contribution to the identification of certain species during the determination session at the laboratory of the forest ecology station of Fontainebleau (France, 2016). We also thank Claude Roux for the contribution to the determination of corticolous species (December 2019).

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  1. Laboratory of Water, Biodiversity and Climate Change, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia Marrakesh, Cadi Ayyad University, Av. Prince My Abdellah, P.O. Box 2390, Marrakesh, 40000, Morocco

    Essilmi Mohamed, Loudiki Mohammed & El Gharmali Abdelhay

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  1. Essilmi Mohamed
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Mohamed, E., Mohammed, L. & Abdelhay, E.G. Use of new Indices for the Assessment of Air Quality in the Safi Region (Morocco) using Lichen Biomonitoring of Air Contamination by Trace Elements. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 111, 24 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-023-03783-9

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