Comparative biomonitoring of atmospheric quality in five zones of Cordoba city (Argentina) employing the transplanted lichen Usnea sp.

CARRERAS, H; GUDIÑO, G.; PIGNATA, M.L

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 1998

0269-7491

The lichen Usnea sp. was transplanted to ®ve zones plus a control one in the city of Co rdoba, with di€erent levels of industrialand trac 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 trac, but at thesame time, there was an increase in the degradation of chlorophyll a. These results indicate that chlorophylls would be a€ected byair pollutants emitted by trac and as a compensatory mechanism the lichen would increase their synthesis. Signi®cant di€erenceswere observed in hydroperoxy conjugated dienes concentration and sulfur content in samples transplanted to high trac 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 e€ect of industrial with trac pollutants.PI results allow us to di€erentiate areas with di€erent air quality in the city, the highest pollution levels being observed in thedowntown area with high trac. Two other areas near downtown with high trac are also in this category. Except for downtownand a far away zone with high industrial density, the other areas showed higher PIs at high trac sites. The lowest PIs wereobserved in the control zone and at the low trac sampling points.