Epiphytic lichen Flavoparmelia caperata as a sentinel for trace metal pollution

The widely spread lichen specie Flavoparmelia caperata was used in a biomonitoring study for atmospheric trace metal pollution in natural ecosystems in south-eastern Serbia. The concentration and distribution pattern of 21 metals in lichens were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The difference observed between metal deposition in the peripheral and central parts of lichen thalli reflected air quality changes in the last and previous years. These findings were confirmed with principal component analysis. The study demonstrated the accumulation of Ba, K, Mg, Na, Tl and Zn in the peripheral parts of thalli, while As, B, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, Li, Ni, Pb and Se were concentrated in the central parts of thalli.