Lichen species as element bioindicators for air pollution
in the eastern United States of America
1
Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 430 Lincoln
Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1381, USA
2
USDA Forest Service, Portland Forestry Sciences Lab, 620 SW Main,
Suite 400, Portland, Oregon 97205, USA
Publication date: 2019-12-16
Plant and Fungal Systematics 2019; 64(2): 137–147
KEYWORDS
air qualityFloridalichen element indicatorMid-AtlanticnitrogenOhio ValleySouth Central USASoutheast USAsulfur
ABSTRACT
Lichen element (N, S, metals) indicators of local air pollution load (a widely used
technique) are recommended for five predefined regions covering central and southern parts
of the eastern United States. The final recommendations integrate the advice of regional
lichenologists, information from regional floras, and species abundance data from a United
States Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) lichen database for 11
of the 21 covered eastern states. Recommended species were frequent in their region, easy
for nonspecialists to distinguish in the field after training, and easy to handle using clean
protocols. Regression models of species abundance in FIA plots from five southeastern
states vs. climate, air pollution (both from a regional lichen response model) and type of
nearby landcover (from the National Land Cover Database) identified species’ environmental
limitations. Punctelia rudecta is recommended for cooler forested uplands of all regions,
with three Physcia species combined and Punctelia missouriensis for isolated woodlands
or urban areas of three regions. Parmotrema hypotropum and P. hypoleucinum combined
(weak environmental limitation) or P. perforatum. and P. subrigidum combined (limited
in more polluted areas) are recommended for warmer Coastal Plains in two regions each.
Additional species are recommended for single regions. Each species must be quantitatively
evaluated in each region, to demonstrate indication reliability in practice and to calculate
element data conversions between species for region-wide bioindication.
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