As poikilohydric organisms, lichens are capable of storing significant amounts of atmospheric water. Epiphytes that intercept rainfall change the amount and chemical composition of throughfall water, affecting water balance and microclimate of forest ecosystems. The aim of the study was to investigate the differences in the process of changes/increase in the amount of water in three lichen species: Evernia prunastrii, Hypogymnia tubulosa and Platismatia glauca. In the experiment, conducted under laboratory conditions, samples of thalli were wetted with constant doses of water and weighed in order to determine the amount of water storage capacity from simulated rainfall. The studied lichen species differed in terms of process dynamics and values of water storage capacity, probably due to the morphological structure of thalli. Average water retention was the highest in Platismatia glauca (33.58 %), lower in Evernia prunastrii (19.77 %) and the lowest in Hypogymnia tubulosa (15.38 %). Analyzed taxa with larger water storage capacity are also known to be more sensitive to air pollution.

The monitoring of selected physicochemical parameters and chemical composition of water was conducted in 2017-2018 in the Lubrzanka river and the Cedzyna reservoir (Swietokrzyskie Mountains, Poland). The results indicate that the impact of reservoir on the quality of river water depends on natural characteristics of the catchment as well as on the present anthropogenic pressure. Retention of water in the reservoir caused seasonally diversified changes in analysed parameters, including an increase in water temperature, retention of major ions, nutrients and trace elements. Further research is needed to assess the risk of contamination of lower course of the river with metals deposited in reservoir’s bottom sediments.