INVESTIGADORES
CARRERAS Hebe Alejandra
artículos
Título:
Comparative biomonitoring of atmospheric quality in five zones of Cordoba city (Argentina) employing the transplanted lichen Usnea sp.
Autor/es:
CARRERAS, H; GUDIÑO, G.; PIGNATA, M.L
Revista:
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 1998
ISSN:
0269-7491
Resumen:
The lichen Usnea sp. was transplanted to ®ve zones plus a control one in the city of Co rdoba, with dierent levels of industrialand trac pollution. The chlorophyll a+b, hydroperoxy conjugated dienes, malondialdehyde concentration, chlorophyll b/chloro-phyll a, phaeophytin a/chlorophyll a, DW/FW ratio and sulfur accumulation were determined. A pollution index (PI) was calcu-lated to compare the air quality of the zones biomonitored.It was observed that the content of chlorophylls a+b increased parallel to the level of pollutants emitted by trac, but at thesame time, there was an increase in the degradation of chlorophyll a. These results indicate that chlorophylls would be aected byair pollutants emitted by trac and as a compensatory mechanism the lichen would increase their synthesis. Signi®cant dierenceswere observed in hydroperoxy conjugated dienes concentration and sulfur content in samples transplanted to high trac levelsampling points. At the same time, a higher sulfur content was observed in lichens transplanted to sampling points located indowntown, in neighboring areas or with high industrial level, suggesting an additive eect of industrial with trac pollutants.PI results allow us to dierentiate areas with dierent air quality in the city, the highest pollution levels being observed in thedowntown area with high trac. Two other areas near downtown with high trac are also in this category. Except for downtownand a far away zone with high industrial density, the other areas showed higher PIs at high trac sites. The lowest PIs wereobserved in the control zone and at the low trac sampling points.