How can Lichens be Used as

Bioindicators of Pollution?

Submitted by:

Stephanie Dalisay

Shaina Lim

Angela Nathaniel

Submitted to:

Dr. Vicente H. Araneta

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Problem ……………………………………………………..

II. Hypothesis ……………………………………………………..

III. Methodology ………………………………………………….

IV. Observations ………………………………………………….

A. Control ……………………………………………….

B. Variable ……………………………………………….

V. Results and Discussion ……………………………………….

VI. Conclusion …………………………………………………….

]
 Chapter 1

The Problem

Lichens, or lichenized fungi, are organisms that are comprised of two different bodies

that function together as a single, stable unit. It is often composed of a fungus that has a

symbiotic relationship with an alga or cyanobacteria, or both in some instances. In terms of its

diversity, there are about 17,000 species of lichens in the world.

The fungi and algae or cyanobacteria that make up lichens have a mutualistic

relationship due to their individual limitations and needs. The fungi, due to its inability to

harness energy from the sun to create food, grows around the bacterial or algal cells and feeds on

the food supplied by the photosynthesizer, the cyanobacteria or algae. In the same way, the algae

or cyanobacteria benefits from the fungi growing around it by using the water and nutrients

absorbed by the fungi. These organisms grow very slowly and during growth, do not shed any of

their parts. In addition, as these organisms are not covered by a cuticle or equipped with stomata,

different contaminants from the environment are absorbed over the entire surface of the

organisms, often changing their components and appearances. It is due to this sensitivity to

different environmental factors that lichens have the potential to act as bioindicators of air

quality.

The researchers decided to have, as their topic, the use of lichens as bioindicators of

pollution because as Biology students, they should be well aware of how the environment is

being affected by different man-made activities. Another reason is that as students, they should

understand how lichens can naturally indicate when a location is either polluted or not.
 As a result, the researchers have conducted a study that aims to present salient

information on the effects of pollution to lichens.

Specifically, this purports to answer the following questions:

1. How are lichens able to act as bioindicators of pollution?

2. What changes in the composition and appearance of lichens would indicate the measure

of the quality of air in an area?

Chapter 2

The Hypothesis

The lichens are able to act as bioindicators of pollution if they have the capacity to absorb

different inorganic and organic compounds from the air like fluorides, chlorine, carbon

monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and ethylene. If the

environment around the plant is heavily polluted, then there would be little to no lichens present

because of their inability to survive in such conditions. If the environment around the plant was

relatively clean or slightly polluted, then lichens would be present and they would differ in

morphology according to the quality of air in which they are located, may it be in terms of color

or the amount of lichens growing in the area.

 Chapter 3

Methodology

Materials/ Equipment

The materials or pieces of equipment needed for this study are the following:

● Three separate areas varying in the amount of pollution present

Site 1: Little to no pollution (Banawa, Cebu City)

Site 2: Polluted due to the exhausts of passing cars and buses (Plaza

Independencia, Cebu City)

Site 3: Very polluted due to the constant presence of exhausts from cars,

factories nearby and an ongoing construction of the road

(Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City)

● Three different ziplocks

● Cutters or knives

● A camera

● A marker

Procedures

Three areas with varying amount of pollution present were visited. The first site, found in

Banawa, Cebu City, was initially observed by the researchers in terms of the amount of pollution

present. Afterwards, lichens found on the trees in the area were photographed and collected for a

closer inspection. To collect the lichens from the tree, the researchers removed the bark

containing the lichen with a cutter or knife and placed it inside a ziplock bag. The bag was then

labeled Site 1.
 The second site, found within Plaza Independencia, was also initially observed by the

researchers to determine if the area was more polluted than the previous site. After observing the

environment, the researchers also photographed and collected lichens from the trees around the

area by removing the bark with the sample and placing it inside a ziplock bag. The bag was also

labeled Site 2.

The third site, found along the street at Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City, was also

observed initially by the researchers and compared to the previous two sites. When the

environment of the third site was recorded, lichens found on the trees were photographed and

samples were collected by the researchers. This is done by removing them along with the bark of

the tree in which the lichen is attached. Afterward, the sample was placed in a ziplock bag and

labeled Site 3.

Chapter 4

Observations

Control Set-Up

The researchers, after having photographed the lichens in their natural habitats and

collected samples from the aforementioned sites, assumed the lichen from Site 1 as the control

set-up. This is because it is the set-up acted upon the least by the independent variables of this

experiment, the pollutants or contaminants, due to its location near the rural area and the fact that

only a minimal amount of automobiles pass by the area. Also, there are no factories present in
the area, which is why the researchers can come to the conclusion that this site has the least

amount of pollutants in the air that can act on the lichen.

In terms of morphology, the researchers observed that the lichen collected from the site is

flat, thin, very light green in color, leafy and lobed around the edges. This type of lichen covers

most of the trees in the area, and often come in patches in the tree’s trunk.

Variable Set-Up

The area in which the second lichen sample was photographed and collected from, Site 2,

was observed by the researchers to be more exposed to pollutants in the air, as it was directly by

a constantly busy street. Despite the site being behind a wrought iron gate, the pollutants from

the exhausts of the cars and buses passing by could still easily reach the environment directly in

contact with the lichens being studied.

In terms of morphology, the researchers observed that the lichen collected from the site

was somehow similar to that of the lichen from the first site. However, the patches of lichens

growing on the trees in Site 2 were visibly far less than the patches of lichens observed from the

first site. Other trees in the site also had another lichen more crusty in appearance growing on the

bark. This crusty lichen appeared green in color and were often separated from one another due

to the bark breaking.

The third site was assumed to be the most polluted by the researchers due to the fact that

it was directly along a constantly busy street where cars and trucks often pass and that a few
kilometers away, there was a factory that often lets out industrial exhausts. Also, for the past six

months, a construction had been going on nearby the site. This is unlike the previous two sites

because while both the previous sites were located far away or slightly away from the street, this

site was directly along the street and was fully exposed to all the contaminants in the

environment.

The lichen collected, in terms of morphology, was green and crusty in appearance, and

was quite difficult to remove from the bark. Also, compared to the crusty lichens observed in the

second site, the lichens found in Site 3 covered a greater surface area of the tree. Coexisting with

these crusty lichens are a few patches of light green, leafy lichens that were previously observed

in both Site 1 and Site 2.

In totality, the type of lichen found in Site 1 was also present in Site 2 and 3, but in

varying numbers of occurrences. The type of lichen found in Site 3 was also found in Site 2 but

covered a smaller surface area in comparison to the former.

SITE 1 SITE 2 SITE 3

 Chapter 5

Results and Discussion

The researchers, upon completing the experiment and recording their observations,

formulated the following table to summarize their results:

Site Observations Type of Lichen Air Quality of Site

1 Flat, thin, very light Foliose Lichen Intermediate/ Small

green in color, leafy amount of air
and lobed around the pollution
edges; very abundant
and covers a big
surface area

2 Flat, thin, very light Foliose Lichens and Intermediate (Small

green in color, leafy Crustose Lichens amount of air
and lobed around the pollution) - Polluted
edges; not as air (more air
abundant; also had pollution present)
the presence of a few
crusty green lichens

3 More crusty green Foliose Lichens and Intermediate (Small

lichens present, with Crustose Lichens amount of air
some leafy light green pollution) - Polluted
lichens present but air (more air
not as abundant as the pollution present)
crusty green lichens

The different appearances and colors of the lichens are brought about by their

ability to absorb the pollutants in the environment throughout the its entire surface. Air pollutants

like sulfur dioxide, the product of fossil fuel combustion, contribute to the ecosystem by

allowing the formation of acid rain. Because lichens, as mentioned earlier, absorb everything

from nutrients in rainwater to toxic substances, sulfur dioxide can then be taken in by the lichens

when it is brought down to earth in the form of acid rain.

 The presence and accumulation of sulfur in the lichen body has a number of adverse

effects on the lichen body itself. In terms of the lichen’s composition, the algal partner is the one

most affected by the presence of sulfur dioxide in the environment due to its chlorophyll dying

and therefore, its photosynthesis stopping. This is the reason behind certain species of lichens

evolving to become more tolerant of the presence of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere.

Based on the amount of pollution present in the atmosphere, there are three common

kinds of lichens: the shrubby kind of lichen known as fruticose, the leafy kind of lichen known as

foliose and the crusty kind of lichen known as crustose. Fruticose lichens are lichens that appear

to grow vertically instead of circularly, and are often shrubby in appearance. They are usually

found in trees and rocks that are in areas that have clean air with no pollution. The leafy kind of

lichen that could be identified in all three sites is known as a foliose lichen, and they are usually

found in areas with small amounts of air pollution in the vicinity. Lastly, crustose or the crusty

lichen found very rarely in Site 2 and abundantly in Site 3 are usually found in places with a

higher amount of air pollutant in the atmosphere. However, as there are some environments

where the concentration of sulfur dioxide is extremely high due to heavy pollution, sometimes

lichens can no longer adapt and instead die. This is the reason why sometimes lichens are absent

in areas of heavy pollution.

Also, the amount of lichens of the same type can also depict a picture of the air quality in

that area. If one kind of lichen covers a greater surface area in one site than it did on another, like

in the case of the lichens found in Site 1 and 2, then it shows that Site 1 has cleaner air than Site

2. It can also apply to areas where two different kinds of lichens coexist with one another, like in

the case of the lichens found in Site 2 and 3. Foliose lichens are more abundant than crustose
lichens in Site 2, while it is the opposite in Site 3. This can mean that Site 3 is slightly more

polluted than Site 2, because there is less foliose lichens growing in that area.

With these types of lichens and their observations in mind, the researchers can come up

with the conclusion that Site 1 or the control set - up is the least polluted area among the three

sites, with Site 2 being the second cleanest and finally, Site 3 being the most polluted.

Chapter 6

Conclusion

Therefore, lichens can function as bioindicators of pollution due to their ability to absorb

all kinds of substances throughout the whole lichen surface, and react to the pollutants in the air,

particularly sulfur dioxide. The changes in the composition and appearance of the lichens depend

mainly on the concentration of pollutants in the air, especially sulfur dioxide. If there is only

clean air and no pollution is present, then a fruticose kind of lichen grows. If the area is slightly

more polluted, a foliose kind of lichen grows and if the area is very polluted, a crustose kind of

lichen grows. The absence of lichens is characteristic of heavily polluted areas. In addition, the

abundance of the kinds of lichens can also be used in the comparison of how polluted different

areas are. This capability of lichens to absorb pollutants and outwardly show them is the reason

why lichens have been used since the early ages as bioindicators of pollution. At this day and

age, the researchers believe that it is now more important to acknowledge the capacity of lichens

to act as bioindicators of pollution. With innovation comes the destruction of the environment,

and knowing the mechanism of lichens can definitely act as a warning signal for when the

activities of man have gone too far.