Elemental composition of selected lichen species growing on the Balkan Peninsula

Abstract

The amount of nineteen elements in eleven different lichen species, six fruticose (Bryoria capillaris, Bryoria fuscescens, Cladonia rangiformis, Rama-lina capitata, Usnea chaetophora and Evernia prunastri) and five foliose (Hypogymnia tubulosa, Lobaria pulmonaria, Peltigera horizontalis, Umbilicaria cylindrica and Umbilicaria crustulosa) from five natural areas of the Balkan Peninsula (Serbia and Bulgaria) were determined by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The most common major elements were Ca and K and the least common ones were Mg and Na. Fe, Mn, Zn and Ba were the most common trace elements while Cd and Co were the least common. The obtained results were statistically processed.