by Himanshu Rai
POSTER: Komal K. Ingle, Himanshu Rai, DK Upreti, Satish Mohabe, Suman Trivedi, Lichens as an indicator of pollution gradient in central India: physiological and distributional variables, National Seminar on Changing Environment: Present Scenario and its Conservation, BDS College, Kanpur (Dec. 01-02, 2011)
Lichens are a unique group of plants which comprises of an alga (phycobiont) and a fungus (mycobiont) living together... more
Lichens are a unique group of plants which comprises of an alga (phycobiont) and a fungus (mycobiont) living together in a symbiotic association. The morpho-anatomic peculiarities (i.e. absence of waxy cuticle, absence of root and absorption of water and nutrients passively from the environment) of lichens along with their ability to grow nearly in any type of the terrestrial biome make them an efficient bio-resource which can be calibrated for bio-monitoring.
A lichen based monitoring study was conducted in central India- Bhopal (230 15’N 770 25’E), Madhya Pradesh in order to assess the indicator capabilities of lichen communities along pollution gradient. The city centre was devoid of lichens indicating higher level of pollution, while the outskirts of the city exhibit dominance of lichen species belonging to the family Physiaceae, which are well known group of toxi-tolerant lichens. Among the different growth form of lichens the crustose form dominates the area followed by foliose lichens. Total chlorophyll of Pyxine species was found significantly correlated with distance from centre to the outskirt of the city (r 2 = 0.53, p< 0.05) which can be attributed to pollution gradient along the centre to the outskirt of the city.
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