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Effects of site-specific climatic conditions on the radial growth of the lichen biomonitor Xanthoria parietina

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Abstract

The protocols commonly applied in surveys with lichens as biomonitors of airborne trace elements require analyses of samples derived from thalli or parts of thalli grown in the last year before sampling, under the postulation that samples of the same size are of the same age. Unfortunately, the influence of ecological site-specific factors on lichen growth is still largely ignored, so that samples of the same size collected in environmentally and climatically diverse sites might actually differ in age. This work aims at quantifying the influence of climatic conditions on the radial growth rates (RaGRs) of Xanthoria parietina, one of the most popular lichen biomonitors. RaGR was monitored in seven populations distributed along an altitudinal transect of 30 km in the Classical Karst (NE Italy), from 20 to 500 m above sea level. For c. 17 months, lobe growth was measured seasonally with a digital calliper, and site-specific climatic variables were monitored by means of thermo-hygrometric sensors and implemented by meteorological data. Finally, the lobe growth of X. parietina was modelled as a function of 18 environmental variables. Results revealed that thalli of relatively dry sites had significantly lower seasonal RaGR with respect to moister ones. Considering that cumulative precipitations were equally distributed along the transect, it was concluded that RaGR of X. parietina is affected negatively by high air temperatures and positively by high relative humidity. The importance of RaGR variation in lichen bioaccumulation studies is critically discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. Massimo Bidussi (Grenoble) and Silvia Ongaro (Trieste) for their valuable help in field work, to Enrico Tordoni (Trieste) for his precious statistical advices and to Elva Cecconi and Pier Luigi Nimis (Trieste) for critically reading the manuscript.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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  1. Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127, Trieste, Italy

    Lorenzo Fortuna & Mauro Tretiach

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  1. Lorenzo Fortuna
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Correspondence to Mauro Tretiach.

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Fortuna, L., Tretiach, M. Effects of site-specific climatic conditions on the radial growth of the lichen biomonitor Xanthoria parietina. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 34017–34026 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3155-z

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