Biomonitoring of Heavy Metals Accumulation with Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf in Kırşehir Province, Türkiye

Today, the problem of air pollution has been highlighted by rapid population growth and urbanisation, along with the development of industry. Over the last fifty years, much attention has been paid to the relationship between lichens and airborne particulate matter (especially heavy metals). The use of living organisms in air pollution studies is now widely accepted in many countries and the results of these biomonitoring studies are very important for future action. The goal of this study was to determine heavy metals in Kırşehir province using the bag technique, a biomonitoring approach, with Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf lichen and to develop a pollution map of the city. In November 2002, lichen specimens were obtained from an unpolluted region in the Yapraklı Mountains, Çankırı, and transplanted to 4 distinct places in Kırşehir. After 3 and 6 months of exposure, they were collected in order to analyse heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). In addition, chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b contents were determined by Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) method. The findings revealed that the heavy metal contents in various stations are the result of industrial, traffic, and heating activities. As a result, P. furfuracea showed excellent bioindicator ability for detecting air pollution.