Lichens as indicators of air pollution in the Four Corners region

Book · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:5226785

Marsh, J E

The area included in a 40 mile radius around the Four Corners Coal-fired Power Generating Plant in northwestern New Mexico, was surveyed to establish the lichen species distributions. It was hypothesized that trends of increasing diversity and abundance should be evident along distance gradients away from the power plant if effluents from the power plant are adversely affecting the lichens. Below 7,000 feet (2134 m), no trend could be documented in either diversity or abundance. Mountainous areas of higher elevations, above 7,000 feet, had about 20% more lichen species than the desert grassland and juniper zone sampling sites combined. Sulfation plate data showed that SO/sub 2/ concentrations in the Four Corners area are minimal, the greatest inundations occurring in the immediate vicinity and southwest of the power plant. Sulfur dioxide fumigation studies on eight commonly occurring lichen species indicated that both the foliose and crustose species, when in the hydrated condition, were sensitive to 0.5 ppm SO/sub 2/, but respiration rates were not reduced in thalli under identical fumigations in the air-dried state. The arid environment of the desert areas appears to be the most important restrictive factor to lichen distribution in the area of the Four Corners Power Plant. 47 references, 14 figures, 2 tables.

• Research Organization: Arizona State Univ., Tempe (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5226785
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

510100 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560303* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Plants-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR POLLUTION
ALGAE
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
CHALCOGENIDES
DEHYDRATION
FEDERAL REGION VI
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
FUNGI
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
LICHENS
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
POLLUTION
POLLUTION SOURCES
POPULATION DYNAMICS
POWER PLANTS
RESPIRATION
SENSITIVITY
SPECIES DIVERSITY
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR OXIDES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
USA
VARIATIONS