Airborne trace elements near a petrochemical industrial complex in Thailand assessed by the lichen Parmotrema tinctorum (Despr. ex Nyl.) Hale

Abstract

Several trace elements discharged by the petrochemical industry are toxic to humans and the ecosystem. In this study, we assessed airborne trace elements in the vicinity of the Map Ta Phut petrochemical industrial complex in Thailand by transplanting the lichen Parmotrema tinctorum to eight industrial, two rural, and one clean air sites between October 2013 and June 2014. After 242 days, the concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Ti, V, and Zn in lichens at most industrial sites were higher than those at the rural and the control sites; in particular, As, Cu, Mo, Sb, V, and Zn were significantly higher than at the control site (p < 0.05). Contamination factors (CFs) indicated that Cd, Cu, Mo, and Sb, which have severe health impacts, heavily contaminated at most industrial sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that most elements were associated with industry, with lesser contributions from traffic and agriculture. Based on the pollution load indexes (PLIs), two industrial sites were highly polluted, five were moderately polluted, and one had a low pollution level, whereas the pollution load at the rural sites was comparable to background levels. This study reinforces the utility of lichens as cost-effective biomonitors of airborne elements, suitable for use in developing countries, where adequate numbers of air monitoring instruments are unavailable due to financial, technical, and policy constraints.

Effect of Isolation Conditions on Diversity of Endolichenic Fungal Communities from a Foliose Lichen, Parmotrema tinctorum

“…Owing to the very slow growth rate of lichens, different parts of radially growing foliose lichen represent different ages of lichen thallus. Assuming that the growth rate of P. tinctorum is approximately 2 cm/year [ 53 ], the center, middle, and margin parts of the sample (thallus 3, for example) represent thalli of 6.25 (±1.25), 3.75 (±1.25), and 1.25 (±1.25) years old, respectively ( Figure 1 a). The ELF species of Mollisia sp., Coniochaeta boothii , and Muscodor fengyangensis , were uniquely isolated from the young marginal parts of the lichen thallus ( Figure 3 ).…”

Metal Accumulation in Lichens as a Tool for Assessing Atmospheric Contamination in a Natural Park

“…Several studies have reported that high quantities of metals in lichens in urban and/or industrial areas were associated to the local traffic density (Boonpeng et al, 2017b;Guidotti et al, 2009;Koz et al, 2010;Olowoyo et al, 2011;Sorbo et al, 2008). A number of studies have been carried out along highways in rural and natural areas to clarify and assess the impact of road traffic on atmospheric metal pollution (Liu et al, 2018;Yemets et al, 2014;Zhao et al, 2019).…”

“…The concentration of each metal from each sampling site was compared with its background concentration to determine the variation from its baseline concentration. The background concentrations were obtained from the same lichen species (P. tinctorum), which were collected on various tree species in all seasons at KYNP (Boonpeng, 2016;Boonpeng et al, 2017b). The results were subsequently interpreted using bioaccumulation ratios (B ratio) (B ratio=mean concentration of an analyzed metal in a sampling site divided by mean background concentration of that metal): ≤1.0=absence of bioaccumulation, >1.0-2.1=low bioaccumulation, >2.1-3.4=moderate bioaccumulation, >3.4-4.9=high bioaccumulation, and >4.9=severe bioaccumulation (Cecconi et al, 2019).…”

“…Table 2. Means and Standard Deviations (SD) (n=5) of 9 traffic-related metals in the native lichen Parmotrema tinctorum collected at eleven sampling sites in the Forested (F), Accommodation (A) and Parking (P) areas in Khao Yai National Park, and the background element concentrations (BECs) obtained from previous studies (Boonpeng, 2016;Boonpeng et al, 2017b Bioaccumulation ratio (B ratio): ≤1.0=absence of bioaccumulation (regular), >1.0-2.1=low bioaccumulation (italic), >2.1-3.4=moderate bioaccumulation (bold), >3.4-4.9=high bioaccumulation, and >4.9=severe bioaccumulation (Cecconi et al, 2019). Asterisk (*)=the value is not B ratio; it is the method detection limit of each element in µg/g.…”

“…Its potential to be used as a bioindicator/biomonitoring species of air quality has been tested and confirmed by several scientists (Boonpeng et al, 2018;Koch et al, 2016;Port et al, 2018). In Thailand, it was used as a biomonitor of atmospheric deposition for assessing air quality in the Map Ta Phut petrochemical complex (Boonpeng et al, 2017a;Boonpeng et al, 2017b;Boonpeng et al, 2018). In Brazil, it was used as a bioaccumulator of atmospheric pollutants in urban and forested areas in the Rio Grande do Sul (Koch et al, 2016;Port et al, 2018), and in the urban area of the Porto Alegre (Käffer et al, 2012).…”