Laboratory of Active Microorganisms and Biomolecules (LMBA), Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University Tunis El-Manar-II, Tunis, Tunisia.
Plant, Soil, Environment Interactions Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tunis El-Manar II, Tunis, Tunisia.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 Apr 14;195(5):570. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-11219-4.
This study was undertaken with the aim of selecting one or more lichen species that are the most suitable for transplant-based surveys of air pollution in Tunisia, in areas where the local native lichen vegetation is scanty or missing at all. To this purpose, four epiphytic (tree inhabiting) lichen species (Evernia prunastri, Flavoparmelia caperata, Parmotrema perlatum, Ramalina farinacea) were collected from the Babouch forests, a remote and unpolluted area of NW Tunisia, and analyzed for their content of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), namely Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn, by ICP-MS. Moreover, also the physiological status of the lichen samples was evaluated by measuring their chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, and spectral reflectance. The results indicated a remarkable contribution of airborne soil and dust particles to the total PTE content, especially for the foliose species F. caperata and P. perlatum. The fruticose lichens E. prunastri and R. farinacea had a lower and similar content of PTEs, and hence were regarded as more suitable to be used in transplant studies, since are able to detect even minimal accumulation amounts. All lichen species were healthy, as emerged from the analysis of physiological parameters.
本研究旨在选择一种或多种最适合在突尼斯空气污染的基于移植的调查中使用的地衣物种，这些物种所在地区的本地原生地衣植被非常稀少或完全缺失。为此，从突尼斯西北部偏远且无污染的巴巴什森林中采集了四种附生地衣物种（Evernia prunastri、Flavoparmelia caperata、Parmotrema perlatum、Ramalina farinacea），并用 ICP-MS 分析了它们潜在有毒元素（PTEs）的含量，包括 Al、As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Fe、Ni、Pb、Sb 和 Zn。此外，还通过测量叶绿素含量、光合作用效率和光谱反射率来评估地衣样品的生理状况。结果表明，空气中的土壤和尘埃颗粒对总 PTE 含量有显著贡献，尤其是对叶状物种 F. caperata 和 P. perlatum。灌木状地衣 E. prunastri 和 R. farinacea 的 PTE 含量较低且相似，因此被认为更适合用于移植研究，因为它们能够检测到即使是最小的积累量。所有地衣物种都很健康，这是从生理参数分析中得出的结论。
