Lichens as bioindicators of air quality in Quibdó city, Chocó, Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18636/bioneotropical.v4i1.178Keywords:
Air pollution, Bioindication, Biological sensors, Chocó, Lichens.Abstract
Objective: The aim of this work was determinate the rol of lichens as bioindicators of air pollution in non-industrialized small towns. Methodology: The study was conducted in Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia. In this city we chose four sampling stations along a gradient of traffic congestion from the city center to a rural area. At each site we measured the structure and composition of the community of lichens. Results: Diversity (c2=0.4, p=0.19), evenness (c2=0.8, p=0.85), and dominance (c2=0.01, p=0.99) did not differ between sites. However, the percentage of foliose morpho-species (c2=47, p<0.001) and abundance (c2=239.5, p<0.001) tend to increase with traffic congestion while the percentage of crustose morpho-species (c2=133.2, p<0.001) and coverage (c2=9.1, p=0.02) decreased in the direction of the gradient. Families such as Physciaceae, Parmeliaceae, Coccocarpiaceae and Lobariaceae were more abundant at sites with high vehicular traffic while Pertusariaceae, Arthoniaceae, Lecanoraceae and Thelotremataceae were more representative in environments with no vehicular mobility. Conclusion: Lichen communities are highly sensitive to identify gradients of air pollution in non-industrialized small towns. Variables such as richness, abundance, coverage and composition of foliose and crustose lichens can be used to generate models for the identification of air pollution gradients. Families such as Physciaceae, Parmeliaceae, Lobariaceae, Coccocarpiaceae, Pertusariaceae, Arthoniaceae, Thelotremataceae and Lecanoraceae can be used for environmental zoning in Quibdó and other cities in the biogeographical-Chocó region.
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