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Lichens as Monitors of Radioelements

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Monitoring with Lichens — Monitoring Lichens

Part of the book series: NATO Science Series ((NAIV,volume 7))

Abstract

Lichens are extremely efficient accumulators of chemical elements which are taken up from substrate solutions, deposited aerosols and rain; their thalli, particularly those with soralia or isidia, provide effective surfaces for uptake. In some cases, lichens can be severely affected by heavy metals, the latter’s presence in all probability exacerbating the damaging effects of sulphur dioxide pollution [25, 26, 44], and strong correlations between pollution level, lichen distribution and chemical uptake are often observed. To what extent many of these elements are usefully employed in the lichen thallus is as yet unknown [76]; many lichens certainly show a resilience to heavy metal uptake, and high concentrations have been determined in species growing on metal-enriched soils [61, 68].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK

    M. R. D. Seaward

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, The University, Trieste, Italy

    Pier Luigi Nimis

  2. WSL, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Christoph Scheidegger

  3. Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, London, UK

    Patricia A. Wolseley

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Seaward, M.R.D. (2002). Lichens as Monitors of Radioelements. In: Nimis, P.L., Scheidegger, C., Wolseley, P.A. (eds) Monitoring with Lichens — Monitoring Lichens. NATO Science Series, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0423-7_7

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