Mosses as bioindicators of the state of the environment. Plants indicators Mosses indicators

1

It has been shown experimentally that leafy mosses can be used as bioindicators of environmental pollution with oil products.

leafy mosses

oil pollution

bioindication

1. Gusev A.P., Sokolov A.S. Information-analytical system for assessing anthropogenic disturbance of forest landscapes // Bulletin of the Tomsk State University. - 2008. - No. 309. - P. 176-180.

2. Zheleznova G.V., Shubina T.P. Mosses of natural middle taiga plant communities in the southern part of the Komi Republic // Theoretical and Applied Ecology. - 2010. - No. 4. - P. 76–83.

3. To the organization of integrated monitoring of the state of the natural environment in the area of ​​fall of the separating parts of launch vehicles on the territory of the Northern Urals / I.А. Kuznetsova, I.N. Korkina, I.V. Stavishenko, L.V. Black, M. Ya. Chebotina, S.B. Kholostov // Izvestia of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - 2012. - No. 2 (10). - S. 57–67.

4. Serebryakova N.N. The influence of xenobiotics on the physiology and biochemistry of leafy mosses // Bulletin of the Orenburg State University. - 2007. - No. 12. - P. 71–75.

The development of fundamental research related to the stability and change of natural biocenoses under the influence of various anthropogenic factors, including rocket and space activities, does not lose its relevance. The need to predict changes in the environment and the consequences caused by them increases in proportion to the increasing impact on natural complexes. The search for ways to prevent negative consequences is just as relevant. However, these issues can be resolved only when determining the very fact of the presence of an impact and its degree. This study is devoted to the study of the ability of mosses to saturate with oil products and the possibility of using them as bioindicators in assessing anthropogenic impact, in particular, oil pollution on the territory of the fall area of ​​the separating parts of Soyuz carrier rockets (fuel - aviation kerosene) during spacecraft launching in the sun. -synchronous orbit from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

The research area is located on the border of the Sverdlovsk and Perm regions, the coordinates of the center of the fall area (RP) - 60 ° 00 'N; 58 ° 54'E, area - 2206.4 km2. During the period of operation of the territory as a fall area, 6 launches of carrier rockets (LV) took place: in December 2006, November and December 2007, September 2009, July and September 2012. Fragments of separating parts of launch vehicles (RN) were found at the Olvinsky Kamen '(N 59º 57', E 59º 12 '), on the eastern slope of the Sennoy Kamen' (N 59º 59 ', 59º 06') and in the upper reaches of the ... Uls (N 59º 59 ', E 58º 59'). When launching carrier rockets, environmental support is provided for the receipt of fragments of OCH LV, which consists in assessing the content of oil products before and after the fall of OCH LV in the main depositing media (soil, snow, water of water bodies). The results of these studies did not reveal any changes in the state of the natural environment after the launch of the launch vehicle, both in the visual assessment and in the assessment of the contamination with rocket and space fuel. The results of background monitoring of the content of oil products in the depositing media confirmed this conclusion. The same results were obtained during the support of the 2012 launches: no differences in the content of oil products in the tolerance and post-launch water and soil samples were found.

In 2011-2012, studies were carried out on the possibility of using green leafy mosses as bionicators in monitoring the state of the natural environment and on-line assessment of the changes occurring during aerogenic pollution with oil products. Their ability to accumulate oil products under atmospheric pollution has been experimentally established.

The wide distribution, morphological and physiological properties of mosses, their ability to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions and high sensitivity to ecotoxicants make it possible to use these plants as bioindicators. Moss "takes" all trace impurities from the atmosphere, retaining and accumulating them throughout its life. Despite the fact that in 3-5 years the green (photosynthesizing) part of the moss is completely renewed, the moss itself lives much longer. Mosses do not have a root system, and, therefore, the contribution of sources other than atmospheric deposition is in most cases organic. Using modern methods of chemical analysis, it is possible to establish the elemental composition of atmospheric deposition at the collection point and to quantitatively determine the concentration of a particular chemical substance accumulated by moss over a certain period of time. The use of mosses as indicators of atmospheric pollution has significant advantages over traditional methods, since the collection of samples is simple, does not require expensive equipment for sampling air and precipitation; the process of collecting, transporting and storing moss is less laborious.

Most often, it is recommended to use epiphytic mosses for bioindication that grow on the bark of trees and are practically not associated with the soil (they are practically not affected by the heterogeneous composition of soils). However, when controlling environmental pollution by products of rocket and space activities, equally affecting all components of the natural complex, this feature of ground mosses does not interfere with the solution of the task.

Material and research methods

In 2011-2012. Experimental studies of the adsorption capacity of green leafy mosses to the accumulation of oil products have been carried out. Samples for research were selected at the main monitoring points of the area of ​​the fall of the OPH LV, since it was immediately assumed to use the obtained values ​​as background values ​​for further research in the course of environmental support of launch vehicle launches. Sampling locations are given in table. 1.

Table 1

Sampling locations for leaf moss Sampling location	Coordinates
Chr. Spruce mane	N 60º 07 '17 "	E 59º 18 '10 "
	N 60º 06 '55 "	E 58º 53 '20 "
Chr. Kvarkush slope	N 60º 07 '30' '	E 58º 45 '25 "
Chr. Kvarkush plateau 1	N 60º 08 '21 "	E 58º 47 '54 "
G. Hay stone	N 59º 58 '34' '	E 59º 04 '59' '
The main Ural ridge	N 60º 05 '27 "	E 59º 08 '16 "
Chr. Kvarkush plateau 2	N 60º 09 '33' '	E 58º 41 '30' '
G. Kazan stone	N 60º 06 '41' '	E 59º 02 '53' '
G. Olvinsky stone	N 59o 54 '10' '	E 59o 10 '10' '
G. Konzhakovsky stone	N 59º 37 '59' '	E 59º 08 '26' '

For chemical analysis, samples of leafy mosses of the Polytrichaceae family (polytrichous) were taken. When determining the content of oil products, moss samples were extracted with hexane, the concentration of oil in the extract was determined using a Fluorat-02 device according to the PND F 16.1: 2.21-98 method Fluorat-02 "). The moisture content of the moss was determined separately and the concentration of oil products was recalculated for the dry matter of the sample.

The experiment on saturation of moss with kerosene was carried out by the static method. A portion of kerosene was placed in a sealed container. After its evaporation, its content in the vapor phase was determined, then a sample of moss was introduced into a container with a kerosene sample. Since it was assumed that dead parts of plants and living parts can adsorb oil products in different ways, in the first year of operation the samples were separated on this basis, and dead and living parts were analyzed separately. After holding for 5 days, the content of kerosene in the moss samples was determined. The separation factor was calculated as the ratio of the concentration of kerosene in the moss sample to the residual concentration of kerosene in the vapor phase.

Research results and their discussion

Table 2 shows the obtained values ​​of the content of oil products in dry moss samples: from 0.008 to 0.056 mg / kg of dry sample (on average - 0.028 mg / kg) with a moisture content of 23-56%.

Taking into account that samples for determining the content of petroleum products were taken during periods not related to the exploitation of the territory in rocket and space activities (i.e., outside the launches of carrier rockets), in the territory not subject to anthropogenic impact, the obtained values ​​can be evaluated with further studies as background.

table 2

Results of background monitoring of the state of leafy mosses in the area of ​​the fall of the OCH RN

In 2011, a study of the adsorption capacity of mosses began, and, first of all, an analysis of the ability to saturate living green and dead parts of moss with oil products was carried out. The differences found are insignificant and irregular (Table 3), which allows them to be neglected and in the future to use the entire moss sample as an analyzed sample (without dividing into living and dead parts).

Table 3

The results of an experimental study on the saturation of leafy mosses with kerosene vapors

Sampling location				Separation coefficient of the content of petroleum products in dry moss (solid phase) / in the vapor phase
	top (green) part of the moss	the lower (dead) part of the moss	total moss sample
Chr. Spruce mane
Chr. Kvarkush slope
Chr. Kvarkush plateau 1
G. Hay stone
Chr. Kvarkush plateau 2
G. Kazan stone
G. Olvinsky stone
G.Konzhakovsky Stone

The results obtained convincingly confirm the possibility of using leafy mosses as bioindicator organisms in the operational assessment of atmospheric pollution of the natural environment with oil products. The fact that living green and dead parts of moss equally respond to saturation with kerosene vapors greatly facilitates the use of moss in maintaining the complex ecological state of the natural environment.

Conclusion

As a result of the experimental studies, the background values ​​of the level of oil products in leafy mosses, widespread in the Northern Urals, including in the area of ​​the fall of the separating parts of the launch vehicles, were obtained. On average, the tissues of mosses in their natural environment contain 0.028 mg / kg dry weight at a moisture content of 23-56%. A high adsorption capacity of green mosses has been established: after a five-day exposure in kerosene vapor, the content of oil products in moss samples increases by an order of magnitude. The results obtained confirm the possibility of using leafy mosses as bioindicators, at least in assessing atmospheric pollution with oil products. The determination of the background values ​​makes it possible to recommend the use of this object for environmental support of the upcoming launches of carrier rockets both on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region and in all other areas of the fall of the OCHRN located in the forest and mountain-forest zone.

The work was carried out under the project of oriented fundamental research within the framework of agreements on cooperation of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences with state corporations, research and production associations No. 12 -4-006-KA.

Bibliographic reference

Kuznetsova I.A., Kholostov S.B. Leaf mosses as bioindicators of oil pollution of the natural environment in the area of ​​fall of the separating parts of launch vehicles // Success of modern natural science. - 2013. - No. 6. - S. 98-101;
URL: http://natural-sciences.ru/ru/article/view?id=32490 (date accessed: February 26, 2020). We bring to your attention the journals published by the "Academy of Natural Sciences"

Among the variety of plants, there are those that are called indicator plants. They are characterized by a pronounced adaptation to certain environmental conditions. That is, these plants prefer certain types of soil and living conditions. For example, some more often grow on acidic soils, others - on clayey, others prefer limestone or shady places. In addition, plants can tell a lot about soil fertility.
So, on soils containing a lot of nitrogen, dioecious nettles, kupyr, quinoa, and caustic buttercup are often found. The increased nitrogen content gives these plants an intense green color. At the same time, wild carrots and sedum prefer soils with a small amount of nitrogen. These plants have a correspondingly pale green leaf color.

Soils with a high calcium content are preferred by many types of legumes, alder. These plants are also called calciphiles. Legumes, by the way, can extract calcium from the deep layers of the soil, and then enrich the upper layers with it.

Neutral soils are fond of odorless chamomile, field radish, clover, field bindweed, coltsfoot, creeping wheatgrass, shepherd's purse, nettle, swan, biting midge. Virtually all cultivated plants can be planted on such soils.

Acidic soils are suitable for horsetail, blueberries, mint, wild sorrel, plantain, tricolor violet, cranberry, lingonberry. From cultivated plants, lupine, rhubarb, hydrangea, mountain ash, horseradish and some others can grow on them. And legumes cannot stand too sour.
Clover, ferns, wheatgrass, coltsfoot, chamomile, dandelion grow well on slightly acidic soil. From cultivated plants, these are potatoes, parsley, gooseberries, currants, sea buckthorn, watermelons, pumpkins, zucchini, roses, daffodils, peonies, bells, cornflowers and others. Soil acidity can be reduced by adding lime.

Alfalfa, coltsfoot, lumbago, buttercup grow well on limestones.
Alkaline soils are preferred by field violet, samoseyka poppy, bindweed, alfalfa, field mustard, and cereals. From cultivated plants on such soils, you can plant corn, cereals, poppy, clematis. Chlorosis of plants is often observed on alkaline ones, that is, iron deficiency affects.
Salty soil loves quinoa. Waterlogged - field mint, field horsetail, coltsfoot. Dry - wormwood, chamomile, common chicory. Dense - creeping buttercup, large plantain, creeping wheatgrass, fragrant chamomile. Clay and loamy - dandelion, mint, horsetail.
Fertile soils prefer celandine, whitewash, raspberries, nettles, oxalis. Infertile - lingonberry, cranberry, peat mosses, lichens, small sorrel, bearberry, shepherd's purse.
The close location of groundwater is preferred by willow, oak, gray alder, sorrel, foxglove, hemlock, coltsfoot. And apple and cherry trees grow poorly in such places.

Everyone knows that thanks to plants we get clean air. But here, too, there are record holders. So, plants with pubescent leaves, such as the silver maple, purify the air from dust. Black and balsamic poplar, white willow, smooth elm actively absorb sulfur gas. Carbon monoxide - alder, privet, spruce, aspen. Lead - heart-shaped linden, black poplar, horse chestnut.

Recently, the links between certain plants and deposits of certain minerals have been scientifically substantiated. For example, in Austria and China, with the help of plants that prefer soils with a high copper content, they discovered deposits of copper ore, and in America, with the help of plants, they found deposits of silver. The desert inhabitant acanthophyllium is a thorn, which no one paid attention to, falling on a land rich in sulfur, it dissolves not pink flowers, but white ones; where there is zinc in the ground, the leaves of the plant acquire a yellowish tint.
Some flowers help geologists find zinc deposits. Violets and pansies indicate its increased content in the soil. It is on such lands that these plants have the largest flowers. By the way, the violet helped geologists find the largest zinc deposit in Western Europe. Adonis and locust lilies grow on soils rich in lime; and sleep-grass indicates the content of nickel and cobalt in the soil. If a kachim (a plant from the carnation family) blossomed like a lush flower, then somewhere nearby there is copper.

Often, by the ugly development of some plants, one can learn about the presence of many minerals in the soil. For example, on soils with a normal boron content, plants such as wormwood, twig, and hodgepodge grow tall, and on soils with an increased content of this element, these plants become dwarf. The altered shape of the poppy petals indicates that there are deposits of lead and zinc underground, and the stockrose flowers with abnormally dissected narrow petals indicate deposits of copper or molybdenum. It will help you find water and determine if it is fresh or salty, licorice is a large plant with dark greens and red-purple clusters of flowers. If the plant blooms magnificently, the water is fresh, if it is weak and a light bloom appears on the leaves, the water is salty.
There was even a science - "indicator geobotany", which studies plants that are sensitive to changes in environmental conditions and help to discover the wealth of the earth's interior.
Volcanologists claim that primroses are capable of predicting volcanic eruptions. For example, on the island of Java in the Pangranto mountains, the royal primrose blooms only on the eve of a volcanic eruption. Biologists attribute this prophetic ability of a flower to the effect of ultrasound on its capillaries, in which ultrasonic vibrations accelerate the movement of liquids. Probably, thereby, metabolic processes in plant tissues are accelerated, and it blooms.

BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS (bioindicators) - organisms that react to changes in the environment with their presence or absence, changes in appearance, chemical composition, behavior. In environmental monitoring of pollution, the use of biological indicators often provides more valuable information than a direct assessment of pollution by instruments, since biological indicators react immediately to the entire complex of pollution. Besides, possessing "memory", biological indicators reflect pollution by their reactions over a long period. Necrosis (dying areas) appear on the leaves of trees when the atmosphere is polluted. The presence of some species resistant to pollution and the absence of unstable species (for example, lichens) determines the level of urban air pollution.

When biological indicators are used, the ability of some species to accumulate pollutants is important. The consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were recorded in Sweden during the analysis of lichens. Birch and aspen with an unnaturally green leaf color can signal an increased content of barium and strontium in the environment. Similarly, in the area where uranium is scattered around the deposits, willow-tea petals become white (normally pink), in blueberries, dark blue fruits become white, etc.

To identify different pollutants, different types of biological indicators are used: for general pollution - lichens and mosses, for pollution with heavy metals - plums and beans, sulfur dioxide - spruce and alfalfa, ammonia - sunflower, hydrogen sulfide - spinach and peas, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH ) - touch-me-not, etc. The so-called "living devices" are also used - indicator plants planted in beds, placed in growing vessels or in special boxes (in the latter case, mosses are used, the boxes with which are called briometers).
"Living devices" are installed in the most polluted parts of the city. When assessing the pollution of aquatic ecosystems, higher plants or microscopic algae, zooplankton and zoobenthos organisms can be used as biological indicators. In central Russia, hornwort, floating pondweed, duckweed grow in water bodies when water is polluted, and frog and salvinia water color grow in clear water. With the help of biological indicators, it is possible to assess soil salinity, grazing intensity, changes in the moisture regime, etc. In this case, the entire composition of the phytocenosis is most often used as a biological indicator. Each plant species has certain limits of distribution (tolerance) for each environmental factor, and therefore the very fact of their joint growth allows a fairly complete assessment of environmental factors.

The possibilities of assessing the environment by vegetation are studied by a special section of botany - indicator geobotany. Its main method is the use of ecological scales, that is, special tables in which for each species the limits of its distribution are indicated by factors of moisture, soil richness, salinity, grazing, etc. In Russia, ecological scales were compiled by L.G. Ramensky ... Trees are widely used as biological indicators of climate change and the level of environmental pollution. The thickness of the annual rings is taken into account: in years when there was little precipitation or the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere increased, narrow rings were formed. Thus, a reflection of the dynamics of environmental conditions can be seen on the trunk cut.



Lichens received the Russian name for their visual similarity with the manifestations of certain skin diseases, which are collectively called "lichens". The Latin name comes from the Greek (lat. Lichen) and translates as a wart, which is associated with the characteristic shape of the fruiting bodies of some representatives.

Behind the discordant name of these plants, there is a world amazing in its originality.

As organisms, lichens were known to scientists and the people long before the discovery of their essence. Even the great Theophrastus (371 - 286 BC), "the father of botany", gave a description of two lichens - Usnea and Rocella. Gradually the number of known species of lichens increased. In the 17th century, only 28 species were known. French physician and the botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in his system singled out lichens into a separate group in the composition of mosses.Although by 1753 more than 170 species were known, Karl Linnaeus described only 80, describing them as "a poor peasantry of vegetation", and included, together with liverworts, into the composition "Terrestrial algae".

But the beginning of lichenology (the science of lichens - 1803) is rightfully considered Eric Aharius, a student of Karl Linnaeus. He singled out lichens into an independent group and for the first time systematized 906 species described at that time.

The first to point out the symbiotic nature in 1866 was the physician and mycologist Anton de Bari, and in 1869 he introduced the term “symbiosis”. In 1869, botanist Simon Schwendener extended this concept to all species. In the same year, Russian botanists Andrei Sergeevich Famintsyn and Osip Vasilievich Baranetsky discovered that the green cells in a lichen are unicellular algae. These discoveries were perceived by contemporaries as “amazing”, since until the late 60s of the 19th century, researchers considered them to be ordinary plants, and the green cells inside the thallus visible under a microscope were considered photosynthetic tissue.

Many researchers tried to artificially obtain lichen from various cells of algae and fungi, but this was only succeeded in 1980 by V. Akhmadzhyan and H. Hekkal. American scientists have managed to "combine" the algae and the mushroom grown from the spore.

In all other cases, the experiments were terminated in the middle. Found from the sources and a unique case of interaction of algae and fungus. Based on the experiments carried out in the laboratory, American scientists suggested that the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum (A. nodosum) has an obligate need for the fungus Mycosphaerella ascophylli and their symbiosis can be characterized as lichen, but unlike traditional lichens, this symbiosis is dominated by algae, and not a mushroom. This only means that the relationship of these organisms is more varied and complex.

Now there are about 25 thousand species of lichens. And every year scientists discover and describe dozens and hundreds of new unknown species.

The appearance of these plants is bizarre and varied. Known are rod-shaped, bushy, leafy, membranous, tangle-like, "naked" and densely covered with scales (phyllodadia) lichens, which have a thallus in the form of a club and a film, beard and even "multi-storey" towers.

Depending on the appearance, three main morphological types are distinguished: crustaceous, foliose and bushy lichens. In nature, lichens occupy several ecological niches: epilithic, epiphytic, epixilic, ground and aquatic.

Epiliths are very numerous; they are plants growing on bare stones and rocks. These include representatives of the genera Aspicilia, Lecanor, Lecidea, Rhizocarpon from crustose lichens; from foliose - dermatocarpon, collema, parmelia, fissia.

Epiphytes inhabit branches and trunks of trees and shrubs. The epiphytes include the crustose lichens graphis, lecanor, psora; leafy - kollema, leptogium, parmelia, fissia; bushy - cladonia and sleepy.

Epixyls are relatively few in number; they include plants that inhabit dead, rotting wood, as well as old wooden buildings. Among the scale epixils, plants from the genera Lecanor and Psora are known; among foliated - parmelia and fissia; among the bushy ones are cladonia and sleepyheads. Ground lichens, which also inhabit the moss "carpet", belong to the genera of Lecidea (scale), Cladonia, Usneya (bushy), Tsetraria, Peltiger, Solorina, (leafy). Actually, only the American vein hydrotyria is an aquatic lichen. All other lichens have adapted to withstand flooding, but do not completely migrate into the water. These are river dermatocarpon, whitish-bluish lecidea, dark rhizocarpon, etc.

External structure

Lichens are symbiotic organisms whose body (thallus) is formed by the combination of fungal cells (mycobiont) and algal and / or cyanobacterial (photobiont) cells in a seemingly homogeneous organism.

The internal structure of these organisms is also not the same. Some crustose lichens are the most primitive. Algae cells are evenly distributed between the filaments of the fungus (hyphae) throughout the thallus. Such lichens are called homeomeric.

Thallus of more highly organized lichens have several layers of cells, each of which performs a specific function. Such lichens are called heteromeric.

Outside, there is a protective crustal layer, consisting of a dense plexus of fungal hyphae and painted in various colors.

(from white to bright yellow, brown, lilac, orange, pink, green, blue, gray, black).

This surface layer of tightly intertwined hyphae allows lichens to quickly absorb surrounding moisture in wet weather and dry out just as quickly, which saves their cells from overheating and hypothermia.

An algae zone is located under the upper crustal layer. Algal cells are surrounded by thin fungal hyphae. Below is the core. This is the thickest layer of the thallus. Colorless mushroom hyphae of the core lie loosely, there is air space between them. This provides free access to the inside of the thallus of carbon dioxide and oxygen, which are necessary for the lichen for photosynthesis and respiration. Bottom thallus is protected by the lower crustal layer.

Thallus of scale lichens is a crust "scale", the lower surface grows tightly with the substrate and does not separate without significant damage. This allows them to live on bare ground, on steep mountain slopes, trees, and even on concrete walls. Sometimes crustacean lichen develops inside the substrate and is completely invisible from the outside.

Leafy lichens have the form of plates of different shapes and sizes. They are more or less tightly attached to the substrate with the help of outgrowths of the lower cortical layer.

Bushy have a more complex structure. Thallus forms many rounded or flat branches. They grow on the ground or hang from trees, wood debris, rocks. On the substrate, they attach only at their base.

Lichens are attached to the substrate by special outgrowths located on the underside of the thallus - rhizoids (if the outgrowths are formed only by hyphae of the lower cortex), or by rhizines (if these outgrowths also include core hyphae).

On the surface of the thallus, there are round discs with a narrow recess, resembling small saucers. These are apothecia within which spores ripen. They are either barely distinguishable, or clearly visible, brightly colored and adorn the body of the lichen.

Apothecia of the lichen Parmelia sulcata, on the surface are visible sredii.

In some lichens, special formations are located on the thallus or inside it - cephalodia, which are an association of a fungus and cyanobacteria. The thallus itself usually contains green algae. Lichens can be of two or three components.

Lichens consisting of a fungus of one species and a cyanobacterium (blue-green alga) (cyanolichen, for example, Peltigera horizontalis) or algae (phycolic, for example, Cetraria islandica) of one species are called two-component; lichens consisting of a fungus of one species and two species of photobionts (one cyanobacterium and one alga, but never two algae or two cyanobacteria) are called ternary lichens (for example, Stereocaulon alpinum).

The structure of a heteromeric lichen as exemplified by Sticta fuliginosa:

a - cortical layer, b - gonidial layer, c - pith, d - lower cortex, e - rhizines.

The algae found in the lichen thallus are called lichen phycobionts. According to their systematic relationship, they belong to different departments: blue-green (cyanophyta), green (chlorophyta), yellow-green (xanthophyta) and brown (phaeophyta) algae.

The lichen thallus is very diverse in color, size, shape and structure. The color of the lichen thallus depends on the presence of pigments that are deposited in the membranes of the hyphae, less often in the protoplasm.

Pigments are chemical compounds that absorb light at a specific wavelength. Chlorophyll is a pigment that absorbs violet, blue and red rays, while reflecting green, which is why it determines the green color of plants and a number of algae.

Chlorophylls "b" and "c" are auxiliary pigments that expand the absorption spectrum of light during photosynthesis and transfer their energy to chlorophyll "a". Numerous carotenoids and phycobilins are known in algae among the pigments that also transfer their energy to chlorophyll "a". Carotenoids are usually orange, red, brown and yellow and absorb light in the blue-green region of the spectrum. It is believed that the role of many carotenoids is not light-trapping, but light-shielding, since they absorb potentially dangerous radiation. The presence of these pigments leads to the fact that they can mask the green color of chlorophylls, and then the algae acquire a brown, yellowish, golden and brownish color.

Phycobilins are water-soluble pigments found in red, blue-green and cryptophyte algae. It is they that determine the blue-green, various shades of red and pink in these algae. In recent years, phycobilins have been used for scientific purposes as chemical labels for antibodies, and also as labels for tissue cells in the study of tumors.

Sometimes the color of the thallus depends on the color of lichen acids, which are deposited in the form of crystals or grains on the surface of the hyphae.

Most lichen acids are colorless, but some of them are colored, and sometimes very brightly, in yellow, orange, red and other colors. The color of the crystals of these substances also determines the color of the entire thallus. And here the most important factor contributing to the formation of lichen substances is light. The brighter the lighting in the place where the lichen grows, the brighter it is colored. The colored outer layers are thought to protect the underlying algal cells from excessive light intensity.

Complex fatty acids and derivatives of compounds such as orsinol and anthraquinone are formed in the bark and core of lichens. Some of these substances taste unpleasant and make the lichens inedible to animals. Others, with a pleasant aroma, are used in the perfumery industry, and some are used for the production of dyes. The ability to synthesize certain compounds is an important systematic feature of lichens.

Lichen nutrition.

Algae or cyanobacteria of bicomponent lichens feed autotrophically. In three-component lichens, algae feeds autotrophically, while cyanobacteria, apparently, feeds heterotrophically, carrying out nitrogen fixation. The fungus feeds heterotrophically on the assimilates of the symbiotic partner (s). But there is currently no consensus on the possibility of the existence of free-living forms of symbionts.

Lichen growth

Lichens are perennial plants. Usually the age of adult thalli, which can be seen somewhere in the forest on a tree trunk or on the soil, is at least 20-50 years. In the northern tundra, some bushy lichens of the cladonia genus are up to 300 years old. Among them there are also super-livers, whose age is 3000 years. Lichens grow slowly, scale add only 0.2 - 0.3 mm per year, and bushy and leafy 2 - 3 mm.

Due to the very slow growth, lichens can survive only in places not overgrown with other plants, where there is free space for photosynthesis. In wet areas, they often lose out to mosses.

Lichens, as a rule, have modest requirements for the consumption of minerals, getting them mainly from dust in the air or with rainwater, in this regard, they can live on open, unprotected surfaces (stones, tree bark, concrete and even rusty metal ). The advantage of lichens is their tolerance to extreme conditions (drought, high and low temperatures (from -47 to +80 degrees Celsius, about 200 species live in Antarctica), acidic and alkaline environments, ultraviolet radiation). In May 2005, experiments were carried out on lichens Rhizocarpon geographicum and Xanthoria elegans, showing that these species were able to survive outside the earth's atmosphere for at least about two weeks, that is, in extremely unfavorable conditions.

Many lichens are substrate specific, some thrive well only on alkaline rocks, such as limestone or dolomite, others on acidic, lime-free silicate rocks such as quartz, gneiss and basalt. Epiphytic lichens also prefer certain trees: they choose the sour bark of conifers or birch or the main nut, maple or elder. A number of lichens themselves act as substrates for other lichens. Often, a typical sequence is formed in which different lichens grow on top of each other. There are species that live permanently in the water, such as Verrucaria serpuloides.

Lichens, like other organisms, form communities. An example of lichen associations is the Cladonio-Pinetum community - lichen pine forest.

Reproduction of lichens

According to the nature of sexual sporulation, lichens are classified into two classes: marsupials (reproduce by spores that ripen in bags), which include almost all varieties of lichens, and basidial (spores ripen in basidia), numbering only a few dozen species.

Reproduction of lichens is carried out by sexual and asexual (vegetative) methods. As a result of the sexual process, spores of the lichen crest are formed, which develop in closed fruiting bodies - pepsii with a narrow excretory opening upward, or in apothecia, wide open to the bottom. Overgrown spores, having met an alga corresponding to their species, form a new thallus with it.

Vegetative reproduction consists in the regeneration of the thallus from its small areas (fragments, twigs). Many lichens have special outgrowths - isidia, which easily break off and give rise to a new thallus. In other lichens, tiny granules (sredia) are formed, in which algae cells are surrounded by dense clusters of hyphae; these granules are easily carried by the wind.

Lichens get everything they need for life from the air and atmospheric precipitation and, at the same time, do not have special devices that prevent various pollutants from entering their bodies. Various oxides are especially destructive for lichens, which form acids of one concentration or another when combined with water. Entering the thallus, such compounds destroy the chloroplasts of algae, the balance between the components of the lichen is disturbed, and the body dies. Therefore, many species of lichens are rapidly disappearing from areas subject to significant pollution. But it turns out not all.

Some not only survive, but increase the territory of their distribution. In the Moscow region, an inconspicuous but very stable Scoliciosporum chlorococcum is almost everywhere and abundantly found - a crustal species, at the beginning of the century also not indicated for Central Russia.

In any case, the death of certain species should be an alarming signal not only for people living in a particular area, but for all of humanity.

Since lichens are very sensitive to air pollution and die at a high content of carbon monoxide, sulfur, nitrogen and fluorine compounds, they can be used as living indicators of the cleanliness of the environment. This method was called lichen indication (from the Greek "lichen" - lichen).

The meaning of lichens.

Thanks to lichen acids (a joint product of a fungal and algal partnership), lichens act as pioneers of vegetation in nature. They are involved in the processes of weathering and soil formation.

But lichens have a negative effect on architectural monuments, causing their gradual destruction. As the thallus of lichens develops, they deform and bubble, and a special microclimate arises in the formed cavities, contributing to the destruction of the substrate. That is why the lichen mosaic on the surface of ancient monuments is very disturbing for restorers and keepers of antiquity.

On peat bogs, lichens inhibit the growth of shrubs. Sometimes areas of soil between lichen pads and vascular plants are completely devoid of vegetation, since lichen acids act both directly and at a distance (confirmed by laboratory experiments).

Lichen acids not only inhibit, but also stimulate the growth of some organisms. In those places where lichens grow, many soil microscopic fungi and bacteria feel great.

Lichen acids have a bitter taste, so only some snails and reindeer, who are very fond of lichen and tundra cladonia, eat them.

In severe hungry years, people often added lichens crushed into flour when baking bread. To remove the bitterness, they were previously doused with boiling water.

Lichens have long been known as a source of useful chemicals. More than 100 years ago, lichenologists drew attention to the fact that under the influence of solutions of iodine, alkali and bleach, they turn into different colors. Lichen acids do not dissolve in water, but dissolve in acetone, chloroform, ether. Many of them are colorless, but there are also colored compounds: yellow, red, orange, purple.

In the North of Russia they are still used as dyes.

In medicine, lichens were used by the ancient Egyptians in 2000 BC. Their acids have antibiotic properties.

Karl Linnaeus in 1749 mentioned seven medicinal types of lichens. At that time, tampons were made from parmelia rocky to stop bleeding from the nose, and a cough remedy was prepared from red-fruited cladonia. The drugs were successfully used to treat skin diseases, burns, and postoperative wounds.

Medicinal preparations of Icelandic cetraria are used both in official and folk medicine for the treatment of diseases of the upper respiratory tract, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, infectious skin diseases, purulent wounds and burns. In many countries, including Russia, medicinal syrups and lozenges are prepared.

Pharmacological studies have shown that the sodium salt of usnic acid has bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties against staphylococci, streptococci and subtilis bacteria. Its decoction raises the tone of the body, regulates the activity of the stomach, and treats diseases of the respiratory tract. The drug sodium usninat was developed at the Botanical Institute. VL Komarov in St. Petersburg and was named binan in honor of this institute. Binan on fir balsam heals burns, and an alcohol solution helps with angina.

The most unexpected use in perfumery, although it was known in the 15th - 18th century. In ancient Egypt, a powder was obtained from them, which was used to prepare powder.

Lichen acids obtained from different types of parmelia, northern and ramalin have the ability to fix odors, which is why they are still used in the perfumery industry today. An alcoholic extract from lichens (rhizinoid) is added to perfumes, colognes and soaps. The substances that are contained in Evernia plum are good aroma fixers, therefore they are used to make perfumes and flavor bread.

Some lichens are eaten. In Japan, for example, the edible gyrophora (gyrophora tsculenta), a leafy lichen growing on rocks, is considered a delicacy. Long known under the name "lichen manna", edible asticilia (Asticilia esculenna), forming a kind of "nomadic" globular lumps in the steppes, deserts and arid mountain areas. The wind sometimes carries these balls over long distances. Perhaps this is where the biblical tradition of the "manna from heaven" originated, sent down by God to the Jews who wandered in the desert on their way out of Egyptian slavery. And in Egypt itself, peeling evernia (Evernia furfuracea) was added to baked bread so that it did not stale for a long time.

According to the composition of lichens, using the developed scales and formulas, the concentration of various pollutants in the air is determined. They are classic biological indicators. Also, the entire surface of lichens absorbs rainwater, where many toxic gases are concentrated. The most dangerous for lichens are nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, fluorine compounds. In the last decade, it has shown that sulfur compounds have the most negative effect on them, especially sulfuric gas, which already in a concentration of 0.08-0.1 mg / m3 inhibits most lichens, and a concentration of 0.5 mg / m3 is destructive for almost all species.

Many researchers are used both for mapping territories and for transect research, transplantation, in environmental education, etc.

Lichens are successfully used in environmental monitoring.

They serve as indicators of the environment, as they are highly sensitive to chemical pollution. Resistance to unfavorable conditions is facilitated by a low growth rate, the presence of various methods of extracting and accumulating moisture, and well-developed defense mechanisms.

The Russian researchers M.G. Nifontova and her colleagues found that lichens accumulate radionucleotides by several values ​​more than herbaceous plants. Bushy lichens accumulate more isotopes than leafy and scale lichens, therefore, these species are chosen to control radioactivity in the atmosphere. Ground lichens accumulate mainly cesium and cobalt, while epiphytes accumulate mainly strontium and iron. Epiliths growing on stones accumulate very little radioactive elements. The leaching of isotopes from thalli is greatly inhibited, due to long periods of dehydration, therefore lichens serve as a barrier to the further spread of destructive radiation. Due to the ability to accumulate isotopes, lichens are used as indicators of radioactive contamination of the environment.

Definition of lichen zones

Air pollutants disrupt the pigment system of photosynthesis by oxidizing chlorophyll and disrupting the transport of organic matter.

The degree of air pollution can be determined by the following indicators

1. lichen desert - complete absence of lichens

2.competition zone - the lichen zone is poor

3. Normal zone - there are many types of lichens

The degree of air pollution is assessed by the abundance of various lichens.

Pollution Degree Bushy lichens Leafy lichens Crustaceous lichens

No pollution Occurs Occurs Occurs

Weak pollution Absent Occur Occur

Average pollution Absent Absent Occur

Heavy contamination None None None

Sensitivity to atmospheric pollutants

Medium-sensitive species, highly sensitive species, some species of parmelia (furrowed, rocky) and cladonia usnea (crested, lush), gray-gray tsetraria, non-smoothed cladonia,

(powdery, fringed). hypohymnia swollen, wall xanthoria (goldfish).

Several hundred species of lichens grow in the Moscow region, in Moscow about

90. They are sensitive to pollution and therefore serve as good indicators of the environment.

Analysis of the study

When analyzing the life forms of lichens, it was revealed that from the samples we collected there are scale, leafy and bushy forms. The air environment is polluted (because there are few bushy species), but moderately, since two bushy species are still found on our territory, and leafy species are represented by a relatively large number of species.

We examined trees growing along highways along Shkolnaya, Sadovaya, Topolinaya, Mira streets. Shkolnaya Street is a street with a high degree of traffic, and passenger transport is predominant. On Sadovaya, Mira and Topolinaya streets, the degree of traffic intensity is average.

During the study, we determined:

The following types of lichens are found on trees growing along highways: orange xanthoria, gray-green parmelia, ash-gray hypogymnia and green algae

Air pollution affects your appearance as well. Lichens age prematurely. As they approach the source of pollution, lichen thallus become thick, compact and almost completely lose their fruiting bodies.

The predominant lichen in the surveyed streets is the orange xanthoria.

Xanthoria wall (golden): a) - in a normal state, b) - in a depressed state. The colonies of these plants acquire the specific shape of a crescent, because the central parts of their thalli lag behind the substrate and fall out, although the edges of the blades do not reduce the growth rate. The thalli of oppressed lichens are abundantly covered with sredia - small spherical bodies.

Along the bypass road, there are trees on which green algae grows together with lichens.

Only green algae are found on the trees.

The indicators of research carried out along the Kashiro-Simferopol highway are alarming. No lichens have been found here at all. Only green algae are found on the trees.

The atmosphere is heavily polluted. This is due to the anthropogenic influence on this territory: the proximity of the highway and the gas station affects.

(according to Cernander)

1 - 2 - Normal

7 - 10 0.08 - 0.10 Fights (I)

10 0.10 - 0.30 Wrestling (II)

We conducted a study of the territory to determine the degree of air pollution using the simplest test for air purity by the species composition of lichens. In the course of the survey, the presence on each trunk of the linden is determined - a standard object of research for lichens of bushy, leafy and scale forms. Then, in accordance with the simplest scale for determining the degree of air pollution, the degree of pollution is determined.

The simplest scale for determining the degree of air pollution

Pollution degree Lichen presence

I low pollution fruticose lichens disappear

II medium pollution, foliose and fruticose lichens disappear

III severe pollution, fruticose, leafy and crusty lichens disappear - “Lichen desert

Based on the test results, a map of air pollution is drawn up according to the morphological (life) form of lichens.

According to the lichen-flora list in accordance with the table: a map of air pollution by species composition of lichens is compiled.

Scale for determining the degree of air pollution according to the lichen-flora list

Air pollution degree Lichens

0 no lichen zone, only Pleurococcus algae on trees and stones of very strong pollution

1 zone Lekanor lichen of strong pollution

2 zone Xanthoria lichen on stones to reduce pollution

3 Parmelia zone on rocks, no pollution reduction on trees

Zone 4 gray leafy lichens appear on tree trunks relatively clean air

5 zone bushy lichens appear, including Evernia zone of clean air

6 zone Bushy lichens, including Usneya very clean air

In connection with the threat of an impending ecological catastrophe, and the arisen need to identify anthropogenic changes in the state of the natural environment, there is a need to organize a special information system - a system for observing and analyzing the state of the natural environment, called monitoring.

Environmental monitoring is subdivided into biological and geographic.

Biological monitoring is aimed at identifying and assessing anthropogenic changes associated with changes in biota, biological systems, and assessing the state of these systems.

The main attention in biological monitoring is paid to observations of biological consequences, responses, reactions of biological systems to external influences, to changes in the state of the natural environment.

Much attention is paid to biological monitoring for the following reasons:

First, the measurement of physical and chemical parameters of environmental pollution is more laborious in comparison with methods of biological monitoring;

Secondly, not one but several toxic components are often present in the human environment.

Of course, biological monitoring does not replace and does not supplant physicochemical methods for studying the state of the natural environment. However, its use makes it possible to improve the accuracy of forecasts in the ecological situation, which has developed as a result of human activity.

For example: for some types of lichens, you can fairly accurately determine the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the air. If there are parmelia, alectoria, etc. on the tree trunks, then the air is clean; if lichens on trees are completely absent, then the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the air exceeds 0.3 mg / m3.

In places of constant anthropogenic impact, lichens disappear. This suggests that the atmosphere of the area is polluted, the negative anthropogenic impact is great.

We hear environmental warnings every day.

However, calls for the salvation and protection of nature will remain just words if every person does not realize the main thing: humanity is on the verge of an ecological catastrophe, there is no exaggeration here. 40% of the population live in unfavorable environmental conditions, and another 20% - in zones of ecological disaster. Therefore, solving environmental problems is one of the most important tasks of today.

Having carried out this work, we not only expanded our knowledge, but also made sure that lichens are not only an interesting, unusual, but also difficult object to identify and study in laboratory conditions. They began to treat these small, unique creatures of nature completely differently. What a heroic effort they have to make to survive. Take care of them! Do not disturb this fabulous Berendey kingdom. Take a closer look around you. Indeed, in the forest there are not just trees, stumps, scattered twigs, stones, but fabulous ones. How richly ornamented they are! And lichens make them so. And what an invaluable service they provide to scientists and to all of us.

We are planning to conduct a transplantation study (transfer lichens with a low class of field tolerance, that is, with high sensitivity, into the zones of anthropogenic impact identified by us.

Progress.

1. We took a piece of thallus of different lichens along with the substrate. Sketched, photographed and measured the length of these objects (bushy, leafy, crusty lichens)

2. Attached pieces of lichens on the walls, bark of trees, in different parts of the village.

3. Observing objects.

4. In six months or a year, we will remove them, measure, draw

5. Let's compare their appearance with the original one from the photo and from the drawing.

6. Find out with which lichens have changed, and with which have not.

Such a study will make it possible to either confirm or refute the assumption that the current average annual concentrations are indeed lower than 0.05 mg / m³, and the modern lichen-indicative picture is connected precisely with the fact that about 10 - 15 years must pass before a decrease in anthropogenic pressure becomes noticeable on lichens.

Correlation of field tolerance indices and average annual concentrations of sulfur dioxide in the air.

Field tolerance index SO2 concentration, mg / m³ Zone

(according to Cernander)

1 - 2 - Normal

2 - 5 0.01 - 0.03 Mixed (I)

5 - 7 0.03 - 0.08 Mixed (II)

7 - 10 0.08 - 0.10 Fights (I)

10 0.10 - 0.30 Wrestling (II)

0 over 0.3 Lichen desert

According to the data obtained, one can judge the average annual concentrations of sulfur dioxide in the air.

We decided to make one more observation.

Research results.

Street name Number of trees Number of trees, per Types of lichens The predominant species of which are lichens

School Gray-Green Parmelia, Gray-Green Parmelia Orange Xanthoria

Garden Ash-gray hypogymnia, uniformly orange xanthoria

Poplar Gray-green Parmelia, orange xanthoria, green orange xanthoria and green algae predominate up to the crossroads. algae, from the crossroads distribution of lichen uniform green algae is absent.

Mira Ash-gray hypogymnia, orange xanthoria orange xanthoria

Kashiro - Simferopol highway green algae

Heavy pollution Medium pollution Almost no pollution (low pollution)

Green algae on tree trunks. Leafy lichens on tree trunks Leafy lichens on trees (gray-green

(orange xanthoria). parmelia and ash-gray hypogymnia).

Study of algae that make up lichens.

Demonstration of work in front of students in grade 6 when studying the topic "Lichens"

Report on the work done.

For a quick assessment of the main characteristics of the soil on the site, there are many methods, and one of them: by wild-growing indicator plants. Thanks to them, you can visually determine, for example, acidity, texture, nutritional value, density, soil moisture.

Most cultivated garden plants are adapted to wide pH ranges and die only at extreme values ​​of soil acidity.
The least sensitive to acidity are bells, violets, irises, gladioli, junipers, and cereals. Typical lovers of "sour" - azaleas, rhododendrons, heathers. Neutral soil is preferred by viols; alkaline - fluffy chisel, etc.

Acidity indicators. Indicators of very acidic soils (pH 3.0-4.5) - sphagnum and green mosses, ploons, common heather, sticking out white mustache, vaginal cotton grass, turf pike.

Inhabitants of acidic and slightly acidic soils - horse sorrel, small sorrel, field torus, two-leaved minecloth, dioecious cat's paw, unclear lungwort, field mint, Veronica officinalis, big plantain, male fern, dog violet, beautiful pickle, chicken millet, horsetail creeping and acrid.

On soils with a neutral reaction, shepherd's purse, wood lice, common cuff, medicinal soap, creeping wheatgrass, dyeing grass, wild radish grow more often.

On alkaline soil settle: white doze, tenacious bedstraw, kermeks, field nigella, narrow-leaved tenacious, full-color field, crescent euphorbia, lanceolate plantain, field mustard, umbelliferous centaury.

Density and fertility indicators. Loose soil is required for medicinal smoke, common pickle, field forget-me-not, creeping buttercup, cinquefoil goose, plantain large, chamomile chamomile grow on compacted soil.

Indicators of poor soils are sphagnum mosses and lichens, marsh wild rosemary, lingonberry, cranberry, blueberry, common heather, protruding whitebird, sandy immortelle, stonecrop, dioecious cat's paw, hairy hawk, small sorrel. Fertile areas prefer European clefthoof, lamb, quinoa, black henbane, wood lice, liverwort.

Stinging nettles and stinging nettles, fireweed, spring rose, Tatar quinoa, hops, thrown back, marigold indicate a high nitrogen content. And the presence of plants from the legume family - gorse dyeing, hornbeam, alfalfa and astragalus - speaks of its lack. The low nitrogen content in the soil is also indicated by the presence of sundew, canadian small petals, toadflax.

Indicators of light soils - sandy immortelle, Scots pine. On heavy clayey, cinquefoil goose, creeping buttercup, plantain, bird knotweed, warty euonymus are often found.

Monitoring the level of environmental pollution is something that scientists constantly observe, many technical devices are recorded in the atmosphere and for other not too positive things that negatively affect this very environment. But, here's what is interesting, the scientist found an inexpensive way to learn about the changes occurring in nature, and it has nothing to do with nano-technologies. This method grows right on rocks and trees and - it's moss!

Moss is a natural bioindicator that reacts to pollution or, for example, drought, depending on what happens around it, it changes its shape and density, or it may completely disappear. Moss absorbs water and nutrients where it grows, and this can be a good indicator of changes in ecosystems. By observing these changes in the natural environment (or even under certain human-defined conditions), scientists can determine the level of air pollution, which in turn can harm human health.
These are the conclusions reached by the Japanese scientist Yoshitaka Oishi, he conducted a study in the city of Hachioji in northwestern Tokyo, there was a long drought here, and in this area the moss showed high nitrogen pollution, which in turn caused concern for the researcher.
Of course, this study was carried out exclusively in Japan and by local scientists, but just think what a huge potential this method has! Moss grows not only, for example, in the forest, but also in city parks and can even be found on individual trees in the centers of megacities. Every year, 88 percent of urban dwellers are at serious risk - the level of air pollution only increases from year to year, several times higher than the recommendations for air quality of the World Health Organization. Today, the largest air emissions occur in Southeast Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, Latin America and Africa. Moss can be an economical monitoring method to find out how bad things are in these countries.
“Moss is a common plant in all countries of the world, so this monitoring method can be used in many cities ... moss has great potential to be bioindicators,” Oishi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Indeed, moss can not only be a bioindicator, but also a good cleaner from various contaminants.
Of course, the Japanese scientist did not make any shocking discovery, but rather once again confirmed the effectiveness of such a method. Brussels-based Green City Solutions installs a kind of mobile walls on which moss grows - in the center of cities, such walls act as small portable absorbers