the use of epiphytic lichens

8/11/2019 The Use of Epiphytic Lichens

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Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Science and Technology

PHILIPPINE SCIENCE HIH SCH!!LEastern "isayas Campus

Pa#ing$ Palo$ Leyte

In Partial %ul&llment ofThe Re'uirements for Research (

The )se of Epiphytic Lichens for *ir Pollution *ssessment in CertainSites of Tacloban

Submitted by+

,ulie *nne *- Co I".Neutron,oan Christine /armito I".Proton,ammy /arie /onsanto I".Neutron

07 January 2013

Chapter 1


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The Problem and its Settings

Background o the Study

%or most people$ air pollution is measured through the 'uality of

the en0ironment and the health of the residents- *lthough these bases

are 'uite reasonable in some aspects$ these are still not enough to

assess the le0el of air pollution in a certain area- Instrumental de0ices

can be used but most of these de0ices are not accessible for some

communities- So$ #e need an impro0ised$ feasible$ and more practical

approach in assessing air 'uality-

Lichenology researches ha0e pro0en the capability of lichens to

determine air pollution- 1ecause lichens lac2 roots and protecti0e

structures such as stomata and cuticle$ they passi0ely ta2e in any

element present in the atmosphere- This ability ma2es lichens e3ecti0e

biomonitors-

There are se0eral #ays to determine the atmospheric condition

of an en0ironment- %or this research$ t#o methods #ill be e4ecuted-

!ne method #ill be the calculation of I*P 5Inde4 of *tmospheric

6uality7 #herein the fre'uencies and the species of the lichens #ill be

used to determine the le0el of pollution-


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Second method #ill be the chlorophyll degradation analysis

5Nimis$ et- *l$ (8887- * dynamic e'uilibrium e4ists bet#een

atmospheric nutrient9 pollutant accumulation and loss that can ma2e

lichen tissue analysis a sensiti0e tool for the detection of changes in air

'uality caused by the pollutants 51lett$ (88:7- In this method$ samples

of lichens from the monitoring sites #ill be collected and their

chlorophylls #ill be e4tracted from the lichen thallus- The absorbance

of these chlorophylls #ill be e4amined under a spectrophotometer and

the ratio of optical densities of chlorophyll a and b under certain

#a0elengths #ill determine the degradation of chlorophyll-

Statement o the Problem

/ain Problem+ ;hat is the air 'uality of the areas of obser0ation

based on the lichen fre'uency$ the 0ehicle density$ and the chlorophyll

degradationTree(>Tree:

:

I*PO 58-= 7 4

#here i is the total number of species 6i is the ecological

inde4 or the a0erage number of accompanying species and & is

the area accumulated by lichens-

))) Chlorophyll &egradation .nalysis

%or this method$ Conti and CecchettiAs procedures #ill be follo#ed-

*bout (8 mg fresh #eight 5f#7 of lichens 5#eighed in analytical

balance7 #ill be directly e4tracted in ml of D/S! in the

presence of poly0inylpolypyrrolidone 5(- mg ml.=7 to minimi?e

chlorophyll degradation during e4traction in the dar2 for = h at

JoC- *fter incubation$ e4tracts #ill be allo#ed to cool to

ambient temperature$ diluted =+= #ith fresh D/S!$ and the

turbidity of the e4tract #ill be chec2ed at Q8 nm to ensure it #ill

al#ays be less than 8-8=- The absorbance of the e4tracts #ill be

read and recorded at JJ$ J@$ @: and @= nm- Chlorophyll a$

chlorophyll b and chlorophyll a+b #ill be calculated using


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e'uations deri0ed from speci&c absorption coecients for pure

chlorophylls a and b by *rnon. Chlorophyll a/b #ill be used as an

indicator of the measurement of physiological acti0ity of algal

cells- The ratio of optical densities at @: and @= nm 5!D

@:9!D @=7 #ill be interpreted as the phaeophytini?ation

'uotient$ #hich #ill reect the ratio of chlorophyll a to

phaeophytin a- 5Conti$ et- *l$ (8887

Bibliography

=7 /cCourt$ Richard /atthe#- FLichenG /icrosoft Student (88

D"DU- Redmond$ ;*+ /icrosoft Corporation$ (88Q-

(7 1ac2or$ /- 5(88(7- /onitoring *ir Pollution in osice )sing

Lichens-

:7 1ogulyubo0$ * et al- 5(88=7- *ssessment of *ir Pollution by

Lichen Indication /ethod-


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@7 1righigna$ L- 5n-d-7- The use of tropical bromeliads 5Tilandia

spp-7 for monitoring atmospheric pollution in the to#n of

%lorence$ Italy-

7 Holt$ E- 5(8==7- 1ioindicators+ )sing !rgansims to /easure

En0ironmental Impacts-

J7 ett$ *- et- al- 5(887- Learning #ith Lichens+ )sing

Epiphytic Lichens *s 1ioindicators of *ir Pollution-

Q7 Smith$ - 5n-d-7- Lichens as 1ioindicators- National Science

teachers *ssociation-

7 Hutchinson$ ,- 5=J7- *ir 6uality and Lichens. * Literature

Re0ie# Emphasi?ing the Paci&c North#est$ )S*-

7 Lichenland- 5n-d7- )nited States %orest Ser0ice- National

Lichens V *ir 6uality Database and Clearinghouse-

=87 ;att$ D- *- 5n-d-7- THE 1I!DI"ERSITW *SSESS/ENT T!!LS

PR!,ECT

==7 *prile$ -- 5n-d-7- /onitoring Epiphytic Lichen 1iodi0ersity

to Detect En0ironmental 6uality and *ir Pollution+ the Case

Study of Roccamon&na Par2-

Chapter 9

*esults and &iscussion

The &rst method of the study re'uires the determination of the

fre'uency of lichens- *ltogether$ there are sites- Each sites has :


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trees- Site do not ha0e any 'uali&ed tree- S!$ the total number of

subBect trees is =(-

This table sho#s the description of the sites-

SITE N!- SITE N*/E RE/*RS

= RTR PL*X* Located at the center of the cityLocated near a school %re'uent typesof 0ehicles are public motorcycles and

tricycles( %*/ILW P*R Located at the east side of the city

Located at the seaside *dBacent to aroad Located near a botanical garden%re'uent 0ehicles are Beepneys$ and

cars: /)NICIP*L H*LL Located at the north of the city Near a

port %re'uent 0ehicles are motorcycles@ ST! NIN! SHRINE Located at the south of the city

;aiting area for Beepneys and publictransportations *dBacent to a road

Located near a gasoline station%re'uent type of 0ehicles are Beepneys

PETR!N Located at the #est of the city *gasoline station %re'uent type of

0ehicles are cars$ truc2s$ and Beepneys

This table sho#s the 0ehicle density 5the a0erage number of 0ehicles

passing in the sites per minute7 in each site- The more 0ehicles means

greater e4posure to pollutant-

SITE N!- *"ER*E "EHICLEDENSITW

50ehicles 9minute7

= =-J( (8-(: =:@ =J-

:(-


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This table sho#s the a0erage phaeophytini?ation 'uotient of the

chlorophylls of the lichen samples in each site- This parameter is an

indicator of chlorophyll damage- =-@ is the ideal 0alue for una3ected

chlorophyll-

Phaeophytini?ation 'uotient is in0ersely related to 0ehicle

density but directly related to lichen fre'uency- Thus$ the higher the

0alue for this parameter$ the lesser damage on the chlorophyll-

This is the order of the sites in ascending order of

phaeophytini?ation 'uotient-

Site Y Site (Y Site @Y Site :Y Site =

*s aforementioned$ the 0alue optimum 0alue for una3ected

chlorophyll is =-@ and lesser 0alues mean more damaged chlorophyll-

Setting =-@ as 8 damage$ here are the 0alues for the chlorophyll

damage in each site+

Site = ............. 8-8Q

Site ( ............. :-J8@8Q=

Site : .............. 8-J:J@(

Site @ .............. (-8J=Q

Site ................ no 0alue


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Sites "ehicle

Density

Site

s

Lichen

%re'uency

Sites Phaeophytini?atio

n 6uotient

:(- 8 .( (8-( ( @-8@: ( =-:@@:@ =J- @ =:-88(=:@Q @ =-:Q==:@= =-J = =:-QJ(::( = =-:J(J: =: : =@-=::= : =-:(=8

This table sho#s the results of the three parameters combined- "ehicle

density #as arranged and ran2ed in descending order #hile lichen

fre'uency and phaeophytini?ation 'uotient #ere ran2ed in ascending

order- It is clear that the three parameters correspond accordingly

based on the theoretical relations-

Chapter :

Summary


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This research is an analysis on the atmospheric condition of &0e

certain sites in Tacloban based mainly on the fre'uency$ and the

chlorophyll degradation of the resident epiphytic lichens-

%or many years no#$ lichenology researches ha0e pro0en the

capability of lichens$ most preferably epiphytic 5gro#s on trees7$ as

biomonitors$ bioaccumulators$ and bioindicators- This is because

epiphytic lichens lac2 real roots and they depend mainly on deposition

for nutrients- Thus$ traces of almost e0ery element in the atmosphere

can be detected in lichens ma2ing these organisms the manifestations

of the atmospheric 'uality of the en0ironment-

This study aims to come up #ith a 'uantitati0e record of the

atmospheric condition of Tacloban as of (8=(- This #as conducted

through a passi0e biomonitoring using epiphytic lichens- The study

comes in t#o methods-

The &rst method focuses on the fre'uency of the lichens- %i0e

graphically chosen sites #ere determined and in each site$ three

'uali&ed trees #ere selected for replication purposes- The areas of

accumulation of lichens #ere ac'uired by using a =8cm by 8cm

fre'uency ladder positioned at the north$ east$ south$ and #est faces of

the trees-

The 0ehicle density of each site #as also recorded- To generali?e

this 0ariable$ the 0ehicle sur0ey #as conducted on a Sunday$ a

/onday$ a ;ednesday$ and a %riday-


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To balance out the uctuating instantaneous 0ehicle density$ the

sur0ey #as conducted for minutes at+ +88am to +:8am =(+88pm to

=(+:8pm and @+88pm to @+:8pm-

The second method concerns the chlorophyll content of the

photobiont- The chlorophylls of the samples #ere e4tracted and

e4amined through a spectrophotometer under the #a0elengths

@=nm$ @:nm$ JJnm$ and J@nm- Through *rnonAs e'uation$ the

chlorophyll a$ the chlorophyll b$ the total chlorophyll$ and the

degradation of chlorophyll to phaeophytin #as ac'uired-

Results ha0e sho#n a positi0e relation bet#een the 0ehicle

density and the fre'uency of the lichens 5area of accumulation o0er

area of bar27 but both are in0ersely related to 0ehicle density- The

combined results suggests this order of the sites according to

descending atmospheric condition+ Site :Y Site =Y Site @Y Site (Y Site

- 5See Table for site description7-

/oreo0er$ based on the chlorophyll degradation$ the chlorophylls

of the lichens in each site are close to =-@$ a 0alue considered as

optimum for una3ected chlorophyll a- Thus$ the air 'ualities of the

sites are still generally healthy-

The establishment of this research #ill bene&t Tacloban as #ell

as its residents- This #ill gi0e them a sense of a#areness regarding

their atmosphere and at the same time$ this #ill introduce a 0ery

practical #ay of assessing the en0ironmental 'uality of a place- This


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#ill also be useful in 2eeping trac2 of TaclobanAs ecological history- *nd

later on$ the same 2ind of research can be e4tended and related to

traces of pollutants in the atmosphere and the number of occurences

of diseases caused by e4posure to certain pollutants-

Conclusion

The order of sites according to ascending atmospheric pollution+

:Y=Y(Y@Y

"ehicle density is one of the determinants of atmospheric 'uality

in Tacloban-

The chlorophyll degradation and lichen fre'uency are directly

related #hile

0ehicle density is in0ersely related to both-

TaclobanAs atmosphere$ in general$ is still healthy considering

that the

degradation percentage of the chlorophyll of resident

lichens is about = to @-

*ecommendations

Increase number of sites and trees

*dd the follo#ing parameters+

*- Inde4 of *ir Purity


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1- Inde4 of Poleotolerance

C- Determina@on of Le0els of Pollutant through as

Chromatography

D- Relate results to a sur0ey on diseases #hich can be caused by

e4posure

to pollutants

.BST*.CT

This research is a statistical analysis on the atmospheric

condition of &0e certain sites in Tacloban based mainly on the

fre'uency$ and the chlorophyll degradation of the resident epiphytic

lichens-

This study aims to come up #ith a 'uantitati0e record of

the atmospheric condition of Tacloban as of (8=(- This #as conducted

through a passi0e biomonitoring using epiphytic lichens- The study

comes in t#o methods-

The &rst method focuses on the fre'uency of the lichens- %i0e

graphically chosen sites #ere determined and in each site$ three

'uali&ed trees #ere selected for replication purposes- The areas of

accumulation of lichens #ere ac'uired by using a =8cm by 8cm

fre'uency ladder positioned at the north$ east$ south$ and #est faces of

the trees-


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the use of epiphytic lichens

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