Fabrizio Monaci and co-workers at the University of Siena, Italy, and the University of Concepción, Chile, have measured the baseline element composition of two lichens (Nephroma antarcticum and Usnea sp.) growing in a remote region of SW Chilean Patagonia.
The team recorded the lowest concentrations of major and trace elements from lichens in the rainforest, and say that these concentrations can be used as background levels for the area. The authors believe these levels will be useful for detecting environmental change in the region, which will become more important in the coming months due to the construction of hydropower dams in the area.
Read more about the differences in composition between the different lichens and along the climatic gradient in the full article:
Baseline element composition of foliose and fruticose lichens along the steep climatic gradient of SW Patagonia (Aisén Region, Chile)
Fabrizio Monaci, Federica Fantozzi, Ricardo Figueroa, Oscar Parra and Roberto Bargagli
DOI: 10.1039/C2EM30246B
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