Air Quality: Are We Lichen It?

Challenge: You have been

hired to conduct a school air
quality study. Using what you
know about lichens and their
interactions with their
environment, design what you
think needs to happen to
determine the quality of the air
near your school. Can your
data match mine?

The quantity and species

of lichens present in a
forest or woodland can be
used to indicate levels of
air pollution in the area.

Air Quality: Are We Lichen It?

Challenge: You have been hired to conduct a school air quality study. Using
what you know about lichens and their interactions with their environment,
design what you think needs to happen to determine the quality of the air near
your school. Can your data match mine?
Parameters:
- In groups of 2, determine at least 3 measurable criteria related to lichen
population that you think would indicate the level of air pollution in a
forest. Run them by your teacher.
- With those criteria in mind, design a study to measure the effects of air
pollution in the school forest
- How will you compare your findings to what is normal?

Air Quality: Are We Lichen It?

Materials

2 field lenses/group
Lichen ID guidebook
50m tape measure
Compass
Datasheets for
recording information
- Clipboard
- Pencil

Hint 1:
Consider the surface the
lichen inhabits. What
variables can you think of?
Hint 2:
Some air pollutants travel
through the air as a
byproduct of burning fossil
fuels, but can also fall as
acid rain.