Lichens as indicators of air pollution in the Four Corners region
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
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
LICHENS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
DEHYDRATION
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
NEW MEXICO
POLLUTION SOURCES
RESPIRATION
SENSITIVITY
SPECIES DIVERSITY
SULFUR DIOXIDE
ALGAE
CHALCOGENIDES
FEDERAL REGION VI
FUNGI
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
POLLUTION
POWER PLANTS
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
USA
VARIATIONS
560303* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Plants- (-1987)
510100 - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (-1989)