Comparisons between the metal content of a transplanted lichen before and after the start-up of a coal-fired power station in Israel

Abstract

The lichen Ramalina duriaei (De Not.) Bagl. was transplanted to 10 biomonitoring sites during the period December 1981 – December 1982. The amounts of Ni, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Pb in the lichen material were measured at the beginning and at the end of the exposure period. These data were compared with the metal amounts detected in R. duriaei transplanted to the same stations during the period February 1979 – March 1980. After the 1981 – 1982 period, the regional amounts of Ni, Cr, and Pb in the transplanted lichen were found to be higher than in the lichen transplanted to the same sites during the 1979–1980 period, prior to the operation of the coal-fired power plant. The increase of Pb in the lichen after the second period (1981 – 1982) reflects the increase in the total number of motor vehicles in the country during that time. The increase of the amounts of Cr and Ni in the latter period is probably related to emissions of these substances from the power-plant stack. The regional decrease in Zn amount in the lichen in the latter period is probably related to a decrease in the use of Zn as a constituent of foliar nutrients in agriculture.