Epiphytic macrolichens in Seoul: 35 years after the first lichen study in Korea

Many lichens have been used as bioindicators for air pollutants such as SO_2. The first ecological study on lichens in Korea was conducted in 1975 by Kim and Lee, disclosing that areas adjacent to the center of Seoul were lichen deserts. Air quality in Seoul has improved significantly since the 1980s. However, the distribution of lichen species has not been reevaluated since then. We examined the spatial and temporal pattern of lichen distribution by selecting six (inner city green [ICG] and four (outer city green [OCG]) sites, based on the distance from the city center of Seoul and the land use pattern. The change in lichen distribution was related to yearly mean concentrations of SO_2, NO_2, and O_3 for the years 1980-2009. Four and 13 lichen species were found in ICGs and OCGs, respectively. Although mean sample numbers per species were much higher in the former, species richness tended to increase with distance from the city center. Since 1980, SO_2has declined drastically to < 0.01 ppm in both ICGs and OCGs, indicating that SO2 is no longer a limiting factor for lichen establishment and growth. In contrast, NO_2 has increased steadily for 20 years (1989-2009) and a considerable proportion of lichen species in both ICGs and OCGs are known as nitrophilic or pollution-tolerant species. Appearance of nitrophiles in both ICGs and OCGs and the dominance of a few lichen species in ICGs may reflect the effects of the increase in NO_2. In contrast to SO_2 and NO_2, O_3 was higher in OCGs, but it was difficult to identify a causal relationship between O_3 and lichen distribution.

keywords: air pollutants, bioindicator, lichens, Seoul, temporal and spatial variation

Reference

Asahina Y. 1937. Lichenologische Notizen (IX). J Jpn Bot 13: 315-321.

Bates JW, Bell JNB, Farmer AM. 1990. Epiphyte recolonization of oaks along a gradient of air pollution in south-east England, 1979-1990. Environ Pollut 68: 81-99.

Bates JW, Bell JNB, Massara AC. 2001. Loss of Lecanora conizaeoides and other fluctuations of epiphytes on oak in S.E. England over 21 years with declining SO2 concentrations. Atmos Environ 35: 2557-2568.

Brodo IM, Sharnoff SD, Sharnoff S. 2001. Lichens of North America. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.

Chu EY, Kim JK. 1998. Estimation of air pollution using epiphytic lichens on forest trees around Ulsan industrial complex. J Korean For Soc 87: 404-414.

Conti ME, Cecchetti G. 2001. Biological monitoring: lichens as bioindicators of air pollution assessment: a review. Environ Pollut 114: 471-492.

Culberson CF. 1972. Improved conditions and new data for the identification of lichen products by a standardized thin-layer chromatographic method. J Chromatogr 72: 113-125.

Davies L, Bates JW, Bell JNB, James PW, Purvis OW. 2007. Diversity and sensitivity of epiphytes to oxides of nitrogen in London. Environ Pollut 146: 299-310.

de Bakker AJ. 1989. Effects of ammonia emission on epiphytic lichen vegetation. Acta Bot Neerl 38: 337-342.

10.

Eversman S. 1978. Effects of low-level SO2 on Usnea hirta and Parmelia chlorochroa. Bryologist 81: 368-377.

11.

Geiser LH, Neitlich PN. 2007. Air pollution and climate gradients in western Oregon and Washington indicated by epiphytic macrolichens. Environ Pollut 145: 203-218.

12.

Gombert S, Asta J, Seaward MRD. 2004. Assessment of lichen diversity by index of atmospheric purity (IAP), index of human impact (IHI) and other environmental factors in an urban area (Grenoble, southeast France). Sci Total Environ 324: 183-199.

13.

Haagen-Smit AJ. 1952. Chemistry and physiology of Los Angeles smog. Ind Eng Chem 44: 1342-1346.

14.

Hale ME. 1969. How to Know the Lichens. Wm. C. Brown Co., Dubuque.

15.

Hauck M, Jung R, Runge M. 2001. Relevance of element content of bark for the distribution of epiphytic lichens in a montane spruce forest affected by forest dieback. Environ Pollut 112: 221-227.

16.

Hawksworth DL, McManus PM. 1989. Lichen recolonization in London under conditions of rapidly falling sulphur dioxide levels, and the concept of zone skipping. Bot J Linn Soc100: 99-109.

17.

Hawksworth DL, Rose F. 1970. Qualitative scale for estimating sulphur dioxide air pollution in England and Wales using epiphytic lichens. Nature 227: 145-148.

18.

Henderson-Sellers A, Seaward MRD. 1979. Monitoring lichen reinvasion of ameliorating environments. Environ Pollut 19: 207-213.

19.

Hur JS, Kim PG. 2000. Investigation of lichen species as a biomonitor of atmospheric ozone in ‘Backwoon’ mountain, Korea. J Korean For Soc 89: 65-76. (in Korean)

20.

Jovan S, McCune B. 2005. Air-quality bioindication in the greater Central Valley of California, with epiphytic macrolichen communities. Ecol Appl 15: 1712-1726.

21.

Ka KH, Park H, Ryoo CI. 1997. Lichen flora of Ullung Island (I): Graphis and Pyrenula genera. Korean J Mycol 25: 77-84. (in Korean)

22.

Kim CM. 1991. The distribution of lichens in relation to sulphur dioxide in the urban and industrial areas. J Nat Acad Sci Nat Sci Ser 30: 47-71. (in Korean)

23.

Kim CM, Lee HS. 1975. Quantitative studies on the distribution of corticolous lichens in Korea. Korean J Bot 18: 38-44. (in Korean)

24.

Kim JH, Kang SK. 2001. Estimation of air pollution by lichens in Chongju. J Korean Geogr Soc 36: 313-328. (in Korean)

25.

Kim JK, Lee CK, Lee JH, Park EH, Oh KC. 2004. Distribution of epiphytic lichens around thermoelectric power plant. Korean J Ecol 27: 121-126. (in Korean)

26.

Korea Meteorological Administration. 2001. Climatological Normals of Korea (1971-2000). Korea Meteorological Administration, Seoul. (in Korean)

27.

Larsen RS, Bell JNB, James PW, Chimonides PJ, Rumsey FJ, Tremper A, Purvis OW. 2007. Lichen and bryophyte distribution on oak in London in relation to air pollution and bark acidity. Environ Pollut 146: 332-340.

28.

Laundon JR. 1970. London’s lichens. Lond Nat 49: 20-69.

29.

Lawrey JD. 2010. Lichen biomonitoring in National Capital Region: lichens as bioindicators of air pollution. George Mason University, Virginia. http://mason.gmu.edu/~jlawrey/CUE/sensitivity. Accessed 24 July 2011.

30.

LeBlanc F, De Sloover J. 1970. Relation between industrialization and the distribution and growth of epiphytic lichens and mosses in Montreal. Can J Bot 48: 1485-1496.

31.

Lee CK, Koo CD, Ka KH. 1993. Development of techniques for air pollution monitoring using lichens. In: Impacts of Environmental Pollution on Forest Ecosystems (I) (Ministry of Science and Technology, ed). Ministry of Science and Technology, Gwacheon, pp 73-95. (in Korean)

32.

Lee CK, Koo CD, Ka KH. 1994. Development of techniques for air pollution monitoring using lichens. In: Impacts of Environmental Pollution on Forest Ecosystems (II) (Ministry of Science and Technology, ed). Ministry of Science and Technology, Gwacheon, pp 93-127. (in Korean)

33.

Lim YJ, Armendariz A, Son YS, Kim JC. 2011. Seasonal variations of isoprene emissions from five oak tree species in East Asia. Atmos Environ 45: 2202-2210.

34.

Lovett GM, Tear TH, Evers DC, Findlay SEG, Cosby BJ, Dunscomb JK, Driscoll CT, Weathers KC. 2009. Effects of air pollution on ecosystems and biological diversity in the eastern United States. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1162: 99-135.

35.

Marmor L, Tõrra T, Saag L, Randlane T. 2011. Effects of forest continuity and tree age on epiphytic lichen biota in coniferous forests in Estonia. Ecol Indic 11: 1270-1276.

36.

McCune B. 1988. Lichen communities along O3 and SO2 gradients in Indianapolis. Bryologist 91: 223-228.

37.

Middleton P. 1995. Sources of air pollutants. In: Composition, Chemistry, and Climate of the Atmosphere (Singh HB, ed). Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, pp 88-119.

38.

Ministry of Environment. 2010. Annual Report of Air Quality in Korea 2009. Ministry of Environment of Korea, Gwacheon. (in Korean)

39.

Moon KH. 1998. Lichen survey. In: A Study of the Effects of Urban Pollution on the Forest Ecosystem and Countermeasures in Bukhansan National Park (Korea National Park Service, ed). Korea National Park Service, Seoul, pp 115-126. (in Korean)

40.

Nali C, Balducci E, Frati L, Paoli L, Loppi S, Lorenzini G. 2007. Integrated biomonitoring of air quality with plants and lichens: a case study on ambient ozone from central Italy. Chemosphere 67: 2169-2176.

41.

Nash TH 3rd. 2008. Lichen sensitivity to air pollution. In: Lichen Biology (Nash TH 3rd, ed). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 299-314.

42.

Nimis PL, Castello M, Perotti M. 1990. Lichens as biomonitors of sulphur dioxide pollution in La Spezia (Northern Italy). Lichenologist 22: 333-344.

43.

Nylander W. 1866. Hypochlorite of lime and hydrate of potash, two new criteria in the study of lichens. J Linn Soc Lond Bot 9: 358-365.

44.

Oh KS, Chung HB. 2007. The influence of urban development density on air pollution. J Korea Plann Assoc 42: 197-210. (in Korean)

45.

Park YS. 1990. The macrolichen flora of South Korea. Bryologist 93: 105-160.

46.

Perlmutter GB. 2010. Bioassessing air pollution effects with epiphytic lichens in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A. Bryologist 113: 39-50.

47.

Rose CI, Hawksworth DL. 1981. Lichen recolonization in London’s cleaner air. Nature 289: 289-292.

48.

Rose LJ, Nash TH 3rd. 1983. Effect of ozone on gross photosynthesis of lichens. Environ Exp Bot 23: 71-77.

49.

Seaward MRD. 1997. Urban deserts bloom: a lichen renaissance. Bibl Lichenol 67: 297-309.

50.

Seoul Metropolitan Government. 2010. 2009 Environment of Seoul. Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul. (in Korean)

51.

Sigal LL, Nash TH 3rd. 1983. Lichen communities on conifers in southern California mountains: an ecological survey relative to oxidant air pollution. Ecology 64: 1343-1354.

52.

Stockwell WR, Kuhn M. 1998. Study of the effect of biogenic VOC emissions on regional ozone production and the implications for VOC or NOx control. Proceedings of the Air and Waste Management Association 91st Annual Meeting and Exhibition; 1998 June 14-18; San Diego, CA. Air and Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA.

53.

Sugiyama K, Kurokawa S, Okada G. 1976. Studies on lichens as a bioindicator of air pollution. I. Correlation of distribution of Parmelia tinctorum with SO2 air pollution. Jpn J Ecol 26: 209-212.

54.

van Dobben HF, ter Braak CJF. 1998. Effects of atmospheric NH3 on epiphytic lichens in the Netherlands: the pitfalls of biological monitoring. Atmos Environ 32: 551-557.

55.

van Dobben HF, ter Braak CJF. 1999. Ranking of epiphytic lichen sensitivity to air pollution using survey data: a comparison of indicator scales. Lichenologist 31: 27-39.

56.

van Herk CM, Mathijssen-Spiekman EAM, de Zwart D. 2003. Long distance nitrogen air pollution effects on lichens in Europe. Lichenologist 35: 347-359.

57.

Yoo SS. 2008. Research of air quality improvement in Seoul through temporal and spatial variation analysis. PhD Dissertation. University of Konkuk, Seoul, Korea. (in Korean)

58.

Yoshimura I. 1994. Lichen Flora of Japan in Color. 6th ed. Hoikusha, Osaka.

59.

Yu JH, Ka KH, Park H. 1995. Air pollution effects on soil chemical properties, lichens, denitrifying and sulfur-reducing bacteria around the Yeochun industrial estate. J Korean For Soc 84: 178-185. (in Korean)

바로가기메뉴

Article Contents

Vol.34 No.4

Epiphytic macrolichens in Seoul: 35 years after the first lichen study in Korea

Abstract

Reference

Journal of Ecology and Environment