Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agriculture, Department of Environmental Engineering, UNESUM, Km 1.5 Vía Noboa, Jipijapa, 130650, Jipijapa, Ecuador.
Laboratorio de Análisis Químicos y Biotecnológicos, Instituto de Investigación, Universidad Técnica de Manabí, S/N, Avenida Urbina y Che Guevara, Portoviejo, 130104, Ecuador.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Aug;31(36):49214-49226. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-34450-z. Epub 2024 Jul 25.
The presence or absence of lichens serves as an indicator of the condition of an ecosystem and the degree to which it is contaminated by various agents, such as agrochemicals and metals. Evaluating the use of lichens as bioindicators of agrochemical contamination could provide a more comprehensive perspective of current contamination levels. Monitoring was conducted over a 4-month period in two study areas: one was a well-conserved area contaminated by metals, and the other was an area surrounded by agricultural crops contaminated by agrochemicals. Data on the presence and abundance of lichens in each study area were recorded at 10 monitoring points, a procedure that was repeated 16 times (every 15 days), and concentrations of heavy metals and "organophosphate" agrochemicals in the lichens collected were measured by means of Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Gas Chromatography (GC), respectively. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess abundance and richness, while general linear mixed models were used to attain Shannon diversity and Simpson dominance indices. Moreover, a multivariate analysis was performed in order to compare the lichen communities in both areas. The results indicated differences between the area contaminated by metals and that contaminated by agrochemicals in terms of abundance and Simpson's dominance index, while no differences were found in the case of the richness and diversity models. The PERMANOVA analysis additionally showed differences between the lichen communities in the two areas. The results also demonstrated that Canoparmelia caroliniana bioaccumulated metals in both areas. The levels of barium, cadmium, and sodium were higher in the area contaminated by metals, while concentrations of chromium and copper were higher in the area contaminated by agrochemicals. Finally, the concentrations of agrochemicals were higher in the area contaminated by agrochemicals and included toxic substances such as Methylparathion and Parathion, which are prohibited in Ecuador. In conclusion, this research underscores the importance of lichens as precise indicators of environmental health and contamination by agrochemicals and metals.
地衣的存在与否可以作为指示生态系统状况以及受各种污染物（如农用化学品和金属）污染程度的指标。评估地衣作为农用化学品污染生物标志物的用途，可以提供对当前污染水平更全面的了解。在两个研究区域进行了为期 4 个月的监测：一个是受金属污染的保护良好的区域，另一个是受农用化学品污染的农业作物包围的区域。在每个研究区域的 10 个监测点记录地衣的存在和丰度数据，重复 16 次（每 15 天一次），并用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱（ICP-OES）和气相色谱（GC）分别测量收集的地衣中的重金属和“有机磷”农用化学品的浓度。使用广义线性混合模型评估丰度和丰富度，而使用一般线性混合模型获得香农多样性和辛普森优势指数。此外，还进行了多元分析以比较两个区域的地衣群落。结果表明，受金属污染的区域与受农用化学品污染的区域在地衣丰度和辛普森优势指数方面存在差异，而在丰富度和多样性模型方面则没有差异。PERMANOVA 分析还表明了两个区域的地衣群落之间存在差异。结果还表明，Caroliniana 地衣在两个区域都积累了金属。钡、镉和钠的浓度在受金属污染的区域较高，而铬和铜的浓度在受农用化学品污染的区域较高。最后，受农用化学品污染的区域的农用化学品浓度较高，其中包括在厄瓜多尔被禁止的有毒物质如甲基对硫磷和对硫磷。总之，这项研究强调了地衣作为环境健康和农用化学品及金属污染的精确指示物的重要性。
