Lichens as an indicator of pollution gradient in central India: physiological and distributional variables more

INTRODUCTION  Lichens are symbiotic organisms composed of a fungus (mycobiont) and a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont or phycobiont), usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium.  Mapping lichen diversity along land use and pollution gradients gives an excellent estimate of habitat disturbance (Pinho 2004).  Physiological parameters like total Chlorophyll content in lichens have been found to be indicative of pollution (Tretiach 2007). 34 1 9 RESULT & DISCUSSION 31 8 2 3 4 32 5 6 7 29 10 15 16 11 12 14 13 17 30 25 24 28 18 33 19 23 22 26 27 20 The study resulted in recording of 45 species belonging to 22 genera and 13 families The dominant family was Teloschistaceae followed by Physciaceae and Peltulaceaea STUDY AREA  The study was conducted in the city of Bhopal (23 15′N 77 25′E) , Madhya Pradesh located in the central part of India and is just north of the upper limit of Vindhya mountain ranges.  The area has a topography comprised of small hills of 460-500 m high.  The temperature of the city ranges between 24.9 to 47.7oC in summer and 824.5oC in winter with an annual rainfall of 1200 mm. 21 35 Localities: 1. Gandhi nagar (Near All Saint’s college), 2. Mahaveer giri, 3. Laal ghati, 4. Idgah hills (Near Cancer hospital), 5. Shahzanabad, 6. D.I.G. Bunglows (Near Union Carbide factory), 7. Bhopal railway station, Chhola road, 8. B.M.H.R.C. (Near Karond square), 9. Lambakheda (Near C.I.A.E.), 10. Lower lake, 11. M.V.M. College, 12. Fish aquarium (Near Raj Bhavan), 13. Arera hills, 14. Bidla temple, 15. Lake view, 16. R.I.E. (Near Shyamla hills), 17. Chinar park (M.P. Nagar), 18. M.A.N.I.T., 19. Bhoj University, 20. Kaliasot dam, 21. Kerwa dam, 22. Shahpura lake, 23. Arera colony (Near 7 no. stop), 24. Habibganj mandi, 25. Habibganj (Near Kasturba hospital), 26. Barkatullah University, 27. Katara hills, 28. Barkheda pathani, 29. Govindpura (Near B.H.E.L. Quarters), 30. Kokta (Near Bansal Engineering College), 31. Ghoda Pachhad dam, Kanhasaiya, 32. D.I.G. Bunglows (Near Goutam nagar police station), 33. Suraj nagar, 34. Islam nagar, 35. Nayapura, Kolar road. Common growth forms of lichens recorded from the study area Lichen species diversity increased from center (polluted) to outskirts (less polluted) of the city Lepraria lobificans (Leprose) Caloplaca cupulifera (Crustose) Caloplaca cinnabarina (Crustose) MATERIALS & METHODS Peltula euploca (Squamulose) Parmotrema praesorediosum (Foliose) Lecanora achroa (Crustose) The lichens were randomly collected in four directions North, South, East and West around Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh. Chlorophyll estimation of Pyxine species collected from 16 localities was carried out according to the method developed by Ronen & Galun (1984).  The chlorophyll content was calculated from absorbance values at 663 and 645 nm according to the equation of Arnon (1949). REFERENCES: Lichens used for Chlorophyll estimation Total chlorophyll estimated in Pyxine spp. showed increasing trend from center of the city (polluted) to the outskirt ( less polluted) area (Satya & Upreti2009; Vertika & Upreti 2007) LICHEN SPECIES DISTRIBUTION AND THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETER LIKE TOTAL CHLOROPHYLL ARE EFFICIENT INDICATORS OF POLLUTION. Pyxine cocoes Pyxine petricola P Pinho, S Augusto, C Branquinho, A Bio, MJ Pereira, A Soares and F Catarino (2004), Mapping Lichen Diversity as a First Step for Air Quality AssessmentJournal of Atmospheric Chemistry 49: 377–389, 2004. M Tretiach, P Adamo, R Bargagli, L Baruffo, L Carletti, P Crisafulli, S Giordano,S Modenesi, S Orlando and E Pittao (2007), Lichen and moss bags as monitoring device in urban area. Part I: Influence of exposure on sample vitality, Environmental Pollution 146: 380–391. Satya, D.K. Upreti (2009), Correlation among carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and physiological parameters of Rinodina sophodes found at Kanpur city, India, Journal of Hazardous Materials 169:1088–1092 Vertika Shukla, Dalip K. Upreti (2007), Physiological response of the lichen Phaeophyscia hispidula (Ach.) Essl. to the urban environment of Pauri and Srinagar (Garhwal), Himalayas, India, Environmental Pollution 150: 295-299 R. Ronen, M. Galun (1984). Pigment extraction from lichens with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and estimation of chlorophyll degradation, Environ. Exp. Bot. 24 : 239–245. D.I. Arnon (1949), Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts polyphenoloxidases in Beta vulgaris, Plant Physiol. 24: 1–15. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Authors are grateful to director NBRI for providing necessary laboratory facilities.