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The Effect of Simulated Acid Rain on Surface Morphology and n-alkane Composition of Pseudevernia Furfuracea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2007

R. Piervittori
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università di Torino, viale P.A. Mattioli 25, I-10125 Turin, Italy.
L. Usai
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università di Torino, viale P.A. Mattioli 25, I-10125 Turin, Italy.
F. Alessio
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università di Torino, viale P.A. Mattioli 25, I-10125 Turin, Italy.
M. Maffei
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università di Torino, viale P.A. Mattioli 25, I-10125 Turin, Italy.

Abstract

The effects of simulated sulphuric acid rain were investigated, under controlled laboratory conditions, on the surface structure and n-alkane composition of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea. Thalli were collected from Larix decidua bark in a wood in a Piedmont alpine valley and treated with three concentrations of H2SO4. The response to simulated acid rain was a clear change in the quantitative alkane composition, with a decreasing trend observed for C28 and C30 with increasing sulphuric acid concentration. From a morphological point of view, a progressive reduction of the surface amorphous layer was observed as a consequence of the exposure of thalli to the acid rain treatments.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Lichen Society 1997

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