Biomonitoring of metals in the vicinity of Soma coal-fired power plant in western Anatolia, Turkey using the epiphytic lichen,Xanthoria parietina

Abstract

In this study, epiphytic lichen Xanthoria parietina was applied as the biomonitor of air pollution to determine the environmental influence in the vicinity of Soma coal-fired power plant. Thalli of lichen Xanthoria parietina growing on olive, oak and poplar trees were collected with their substrate in 2004-2006. They were taken from 44 different stations located in 3×3 km grids within an area of 30 km in diameter around the Soma power plant near the town of Soma. Lichen samples were analyzed by using the ICP-MS for As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, Th, U, V and Zn elements and their concentrations were mapped. The sample analyses results were evaluated by using the statistical software (SPSS 11). Average element contents of samples were, in descending order, Fe > Zn > V > Pb > Cr > Cu > Ni > As > Co > U > Th > Se > Cd > Hg. Results obtained in the current study were generally found to be higher than the data reported in literature although some lower values exist for Cd, Co, Hg, Ni, Pb elements. The most polluted areas were found to be those in the vicinity of the coal-fired power plant, particularly along the direction of predominant wind and in the corridor which runs from west to southeast direction due to topographic conditions. We believe that this research which is conducted around a coal-fired power plant will shed light on future research on pollution.

Ability of metal trace elements accumulation by Lichens, Xanthoria parietina and Ramalina farinacea, in Megres area (Setif, Algeria)

“…The same observations were carried out in the Taihang region of China, higher iron concentrations were observed near stations with mining activities [39]; this high accumulation of Iron in the thalli can also be of biogenic origin, which confirms the capacity of hyper-accumulator of heavy metals by X. parietina [60][61][62].…”

The role of native lichens in the biomonitoring of gaseous mercury at contaminated sites

“…At Flix area, the used lichen specie was the Xanthoria parietina Thalli. This is, as Ramalina, an epiphyte lichen extensively used in monitoring of atmospheric metallic pollutants (Cuny et al, 2004;Gür and Yaprak, 2011;Loppi et al, 2006;Scerbo et al, 2002;Vannini et al, 2014). Therefore, it was sampled, also from trees and shrub vegetation, using the same methodology as for Las Cuevas survey.…”

Spatial Distribution of Air Pollution, Hotspots and Sources in an Urban-Industrial Area in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal—A Biomonitoring Approach

“…Lichens have the ability to accumulate elements, in correlation with atmospheric levels. In fact, since lichens have no roots, they are dependent on the atmosphere for the uptake of water and mineral substances [17]. Lichens are extensively used in biomonitoring studies [13,[18][19][20][21][22] and for spatial mapping of air contaminants [14,23,24], allowing the identification of pollution hotspots.…”