Metal amounts in the lichen Ramalina duriaei (De Not.) Bagl. transplanted at biomonitoring sites around a new coal-fired power station after 1 year of operation

The lichen Ramalina duriaei (De Not.) Bagl. was transplanted to 22 biomonitoring sites for 1 year (1981-1982). The amounts of Ni, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Mn, and Fe in the lichen material were measured at the end of the transplantation period and the data were compared with the amounts of five of these metals (Ni, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Pb) which were detected in the same lichen species transplanted in the same study area during the 1979-1980 period. The differences between the amounts of the five metals detected during the two periods are discussed. The increase in amounts of some of the metals in the 1981-1982 lichen material (Pb, Ni, and probably Cr) reflects the increase in the total number of motor vehicles between the two periods within the study area. The decrease of Zn in the lichen after the second period reflects a decrease in the use of Zn as a constituent of foliar nutrients in agriculture used for crop spraying. The increase of Cr and Ni in the transplanted lichen after the 1981-1982 period probably also reflects, apart from vehicle pollution, a certain emission from the 250-m-high stacks of a new coal-fired electricity-generating power station.