Abstract
The lichen Evernia prunastri has been employed for biomonitoring the atmospheric deposition of heavy metals at urban, rural and industrial sites in Central Italy. Lichen samples have been collected in a control site 1500 m a. s. l. (Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Central Italy) and subsequently transplanted at urban site (Cassino city center), at rural location 7 km away from Cassino (S. Elia Fiumerapido) and at industrial location (Piedimonte S. Germano) surrounding an automobile factory. Once defined the surface of impact relevant to this work, the lichen samples were transplanted at the four cardinal points of each site. Studies of bioaccumulation of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn in lichen samples were performed five times at regular intervals between November 2000–December 2001. Microwave digestion of the samples and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry were employed for the heavy metal determinations. Suitable certified reference materials (CRM) were used for validation of the analytical methodology. Results showed the ability of Evernia prunastri to accumulate the heavy metals under study. As expected, the area chosen as control site showed significantly (Friedman test, cluster analysis) lower impact in comparison to the other sites and the rural site showed smaller impact than the urban and the industrial sites.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bartoli, A., Cardarelli, E., Achilli, M., Campanella, L., and Massari, G., 1994: Biomonitoraggio dell’aria di Roma: accumulo di metalli pesanti in trapianti di licheni, Ann. Bot. LII(11), 239–266.
Betinelli, M., Spezia, S., and Bizzarri, G., 1996: Trace element determination in lichens by ICP-MS, At. Spectrosc. 17, 133–141.
Caniglia, G., Calliari, I., Celin, L., and Tollardo, A. M., 1994: Metal determination by EDXFR in lichens. A contribution to pollutants monitoring, Biol. Trace Elem. Res. 43–45, 213–221.
Cercasov, V., Pantelică, A., Sălăgean, M., Caniglia, G., and Scarlat, A., 2002: Comparative study of the suitability of three lichen species to trace-element air monitoring, Environ. Pollut. 119, 129–139.
Conti, M. E., 2002: Il monitoraggio biologico della qualità ambientale, SEAM Editor, Rome, 181 pp.
Conti, M. E. and Cecchetti G., 2001: Biological monitoring: Lichens as bioindicators of air pollution assessment—A review, Environ. Pollut. 114, 471–492.
Conti, M. E. and Cecchetti, G., 2003: A biomonitoring study: Trace metals in algae and molluscs from Tyrrhenian coastal areas, Environ. Res. 93, 99–112.
Conti, M. E., Tudino, M. B., Muse, J. O., and Cecchetti, G., 2002: Biomonitoring of heavy metals and their species in the marine environment: The contribution of atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, Res. Trends Appl. Spectrosc. 4, 295–323.
Deruelle, S., 1992: Accumulation du plomb par les lichens, Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 1139; Actual Bot. 1, 99–109.
Herzig, R., 1993: Multi-residue analysis with passive biomonitoring: a new approach for volatile multi-element contents, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with lichens in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. In B. Markert (ed.), VCH Publishers, Weinheim, pp. 286–328.
Nash, T. H., III and Wirth, V. (eds.), 1988: Lichens, bryophytes and air quality, Bibl. Lichenol. 30, 297.
Senhou, A., Chouak, A., Cherkaoui, R., Moutia, Z., Lferde, M., Elyahyaoui, A., Elkhoukhi, T., Bounakhla, M., Embarche, K., Gaudry, A., Ayrault, S., and Moskura, M., 2002: Sensitivity of biomonitors and local variations of element concentrations in air pollution biomonitoring, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 254(2), 343–349.
Wadleigh, M. A. and Blake, D. M., 1999: Tracing sources of atmospheric sulphur using epiphytic lichens, Environ. Pollut. 106, 265–271.
Wolterbeek, B., 2002: Biomonitoring of trace element air pollution: Principles, possibilities and perspectives, Environ. Pollut. 120, 11–21.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Conti, M.E., Tudino, M., Stripeikis, J. et al. Heavy Metal Accumulation in the Lichen Evernia prunastri Transplanted at Urban, Rural and Industrial Sites in Central Italy. J Atmos Chem 49, 83–94 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-004-1216-9
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-004-1216-9