A New Method of Environmental Assessment and Monitoring of Cu, Zn, As, and Pb Pollution in Surface Soil Using Terricolous Fruticose Lichens

Abstract

Levels of trace element pollution in surface soil can be estimated using soil analyses and leaching tests. These methods may reveal different results due to the effect of soil properties, such as grain size and mineral composition, on elemental availability. Therefore, this study advocates an alternative method for monitoring and assessment of trace element pollution in surface soil using terricolous fruticose lichens. Lichens growing at abandoned mine sites and unpolluted areas in southwest Japan and their substrata were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to clarify the relationships between Cu, Zn, As, and Pb concentrations in lichens and soils, including their absorption properties. Concentrations of these elements in the lichens were positively correlated with those in the soils regardless of lichen species, location, habitat, or conditions of soils. The analyzed lichens had neither competitive nor antagonistic properties in their elemental absorption, which made them good biomonitors of trace element pollution in surface soil. The distribution maps of average Cu, Zn, As, and Pb concentrations at each sampling region detected almost all of the Cu, Zn, and As pollution of the soils. Therefore, lichens could be used in practical applications to monitor Cu, Zn, and As pollution in surface soils.

Establishment of an Aseptic Culture System and Analysis of the Effective Growth Conditions for Eleocharis acicularis Ramets for Use in Phytoremediation

“…Digestion of Plants for the Measurement of Cs, Zn, Pb, Cd, and In Harvested E. acicularis was washed thoroughly with DIW and dried in a ventilated oven at 80 • C for 48 h. The dried samples were ground into a fine powder using an agate mortar. For the measurement of Cs, Zn, Pb, Cd, and In, 20 mg of pulverized powder was digested in a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) digestion vessel with a solution of H 2 O 2 , HNO 3 , and HF at 160 • C for 30 min and subsequent processing as described previously [13]. The resulting digested sample in 1.00 mL of 30% HNO 3 was diluted by 3% HNO 3 and used as the solution for analysis.…”

Elemental Analysis and In Vitro Evaluation of Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Usnea barbata (L.) Weber ex F.H. Wigg from Călimani Mountains, Romania

“…These characteristics make them significant air pollution biomonitors [ 9 , 10 ] or environmental risk detectors [ 11 , 12 ]. The lichen thallus effectively absorbs minerals from wet and dry atmospheres [ 13 ]; it also contains metal particles from various substrates [ 14 , 15 ]. The minerals’ distribution within lichen thalli is not homogenous and depends on their morphological properties [ 4 ].…”

Vertical Distribution Patterns of Element Concentrations in Podetia of <i>Cladonia rangiferina</i> from Huzhong Natural Reserve, Heilongjiang, China

“…CR was chosen because it is abundant and often forms a carpet on the ground among shrubs (Fig. 1c) in the region, and it was studied in the biomonitoring research in Arctic [23], Norway [24], Russia [25][26][27], Japan [28], and Canada [29]. The collection area was restricted to 10,000 m 2 to minimize the potential effects of local microhabitat variations on the lichen element composition.…”