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Influence of angular exposure and proximity to vehicular traffic on the diversity of epiphytic lichens and the bioaccumulation of traffic-related elements

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Abstract

This study investigated the influence of angular exposure and distance from vehicular traffic on the diversity of epiphytic lichens and the bioaccumulation of traffic-related elements in a town of central Italy. An Index of Lichen Diversity (ILD) was calculated on the street-facing and the opposite side of road-lining trees and in a urban park 250 m away, and the content of selected trace elements (Al, Ba, Ce, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, and Zn) was determined in samples of the lichen Punctelia borreri (Sm.) Krog growing on tree bark, both on the exposed and opposite sides. ILD increases with distance from traffic emissions. However, at the site with vehicle traffic, non-nitrophilous lichens decreased while nitrophilous ones increased. The concentration of the traffic-related elements Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Zn accumulated in thalli of P. borreri was higher on roadside trees than in trees from the urban park. ILD was not affected by the angular exposure to the road and the bioaccumulation of traffic-related elements was similar in lichens from the side of the bole exposed to traffic emissions and particulate resuspension and from the opposite side. The angular exposure in respect to the traffic source does not influence trace element accumulation. These results are important when using lichens for biomonitoring purposes, both for planning future studies and for the reliability of the interpretation of past surveys that do not report information about the angular exposure of the collected lichen material.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is dedicated to the memory of the late Prof. Carlo Gaggi (1955–2011), our colleague and friend.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Luca Paoli, Silvana Munzi, Elisa Fiorini, Carlo Gaggi & Stefano Loppi

  2. Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Luca Paoli

  3. Centre for Environmental Biology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Silvana Munzi

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  1. Luca Paoli
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  2. Silvana Munzi
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  3. Elisa Fiorini
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  4. Carlo Gaggi
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  5. Stefano Loppi
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Correspondence to Stefano Loppi.

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Paoli, L., Munzi, S., Fiorini, E. et al. Influence of angular exposure and proximity to vehicular traffic on the diversity of epiphytic lichens and the bioaccumulation of traffic-related elements. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 250–259 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0893-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0893-1

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