Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica
Abstract: Lichens are good bio-indicators of air pollution, but in most tropical countries there are few studies on the subject; however, in the city of San José, Costa Rica, the relationship between air pollution and lichens has been studied for decades. In this article we evaluate the hypothesis t...
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| Formato: | Online |
| Idioma: | eng spa |
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Universidad de Costa Rica
2011
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| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/3148 |
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RBT3148 |
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| record_format |
ojs |
| institution |
Universidad de Costa Rica |
| collection |
Revista de Biología Tropical |
| language |
eng spa |
| format |
Online |
| author |
Neurohr Bustamante, Erich Monge-Nájera, Julián Isabel González Lutz, María |
| spellingShingle |
Neurohr Bustamante, Erich Monge-Nájera, Julián Isabel González Lutz, María Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica |
| author_facet |
Neurohr Bustamante, Erich Monge-Nájera, Julián Isabel González Lutz, María |
| author_sort |
Neurohr Bustamante, Erich |
| description |
Abstract: Lichens are good bio-indicators of air pollution, but in most tropical countries there are few studies on the subject; however, in the city of San José, Costa Rica, the relationship between air pollution and lichens has been studied for decades. In this article we evaluate the hypothesis that air pollution is lower where the wind enters the urban area (Northeast) and higher where it exits San José (Southwest). We identified the urban parks with a minimum area of approximately 5 000m² and randomly selected a sample of 40 parks located along the passage of wind through the city. To measure lichen coverage, we applied a previously validated 10 x 20cm template with 50 random points to five trees per park (1.5m above ground, to the side with most lichens). Our results (years 2008 and 2009) fully agree with the generally accepted view that lichens reflect air pollution carried by circulating air masses. The practical implication is that the air enters the city relatively clean by the semi-rural and economically middle class area of Coronado, and leaves through the developed neighborhoods of Escazú and Santa Ana with a significant amount of pollutants. In the dry season, the live lichen coverage of this tropical city was lower than in the May to December rainy season, a pattern that contrasts with temperate habitats; but regardless of the season, pollution follows the pattern of wind movement through the city. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (2): 899-905. Epub 2011 June 01.Original photographs of lichen communities:https://zenodo.org/record/495481#.WPTTxFPytTVhttps://zenodo.org/record/491601#.WPTTwVPytTVhttps://zenodo.org/record/495478#.WPTTwlPytTV |
| title |
Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica |
| title_short |
Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica |
| title_full |
Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica |
| title_fullStr |
Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica |
| title_sort |
air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in san josé, costa rica |
| title_alt |
Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica |
| publisher |
Universidad de Costa Rica |
| publishDate |
2011 |
| url |
https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/3148 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT neurohrbustamanteerich airpollutioninatropicalcitytherelationshipbetweenwinddirectionandlichenbioindicatorsinsanjosecostarica AT mongenajerajulian airpollutioninatropicalcitytherelationshipbetweenwinddirectionandlichenbioindicatorsinsanjosecostarica AT isabelgonzalezlutzmaria airpollutioninatropicalcitytherelationshipbetweenwinddirectionandlichenbioindicatorsinsanjosecostarica |
| _version_ |
1810114501867995136 |
| spelling |
RBT31482022-06-06T18:56:43Z Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica Air pollution in a tropical city: the relationship between wind direction and lichen bio-indicators in San José, Costa Rica Neurohr Bustamante, Erich Monge-Nájera, Julián Isabel González Lutz, María Environmental monitoring pollution dispersion tropical city biomarkers non-vascular plants monitoreo ambiental dispersión de la contaminación ciudad tropical bioindicadores plantas no vasculares Environmental monitoring pollution dispersion tropical city biomarkers non-vascular plants. Los líquenes constituyen un buen bioindicador para estudiar la ?salud de la atmósfera?, pero en los países tropicales hay pocos estudios sobre el tema, aunque para la ciudad de San José existen algunos estudios sobre la relación entre tráfico vehicular y contaminación atmosférica. En este artículo evaluamos la hipótesis de que la contaminación atmosférica es menor en las áreas por donde ingresan los vientos a la zona urbana de San José (noreste) y mayor a su salida (suroeste), para las épocas seca y lluviosa. Para obtener parques urbanos con tamaño suficiente para albergar varios árboles con líquenes, se identificaron los parques con un área aproximada mínima de 5 000m². Seleccionamos aleatoriamente una muestra de 40 parques ubicados a lo largo del paso del viento por la ciudad. Para medir el porcentaje de cobertura, en cada parque aplicamos a cinco árboles una plantilla de 10 x 20cm con 50 puntos al azar, a 1.5m sobre el suelo y del lado con mayor cobertura de líquenes. Nuestros resultados coinciden con la opinión generalmente aceptada de que los líquenes reflejan la contaminación transportada por la circulación de masas de aire. La consecuencia práctica es que el aire entra en la ciudad relativamente limpia por el área semi-rural de clase media de Coronado, y llega a los barrios desarrollados de Escazú y Santa Ana con una cantidad importante de contaminantes. En la época seca la cobertura de líquenes vivos fue menor que en la estación lluviosa (que va de mayo a diciembre), pero independientemente de la época, la contaminación sigue el patrón de viento de la ciudad.Original photographs of lichen communities:https://zenodo.org/record/495481#.WPTTxFPytTVhttps://zenodo.org/record/491601#.WPTTwVPytTVhttps://zenodo.org/record/495478#.WPTTwlPytTV Abstract: Lichens are good bio-indicators of air pollution, but in most tropical countries there are few studies on the subject; however, in the city of San José, Costa Rica, the relationship between air pollution and lichens has been studied for decades. In this article we evaluate the hypothesis that air pollution is lower where the wind enters the urban area (Northeast) and higher where it exits San José (Southwest). We identified the urban parks with a minimum area of approximately 5 000m² and randomly selected a sample of 40 parks located along the passage of wind through the city. To measure lichen coverage, we applied a previously validated 10 x 20cm template with 50 random points to five trees per park (1.5m above ground, to the side with most lichens). Our results (years 2008 and 2009) fully agree with the generally accepted view that lichens reflect air pollution carried by circulating air masses. The practical implication is that the air enters the city relatively clean by the semi-rural and economically middle class area of Coronado, and leaves through the developed neighborhoods of Escazú and Santa Ana with a significant amount of pollutants. In the dry season, the live lichen coverage of this tropical city was lower than in the May to December rainy season, a pattern that contrasts with temperate habitats; but regardless of the season, pollution follows the pattern of wind movement through the city. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (2): 899-905. Epub 2011 June 01.Original photographs of lichen communities:https://zenodo.org/record/495481#.WPTTxFPytTVhttps://zenodo.org/record/491601#.WPTTwVPytTVhttps://zenodo.org/record/495478#.WPTTwlPytTV Universidad de Costa Rica 2011-06-01 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Article Text application/pdf https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/3148 10.15517/rbt.v0i0.3148 Revista de Biología Tropical; Vol. 59 No. 2 (2011): Volume 59 – Regular number 2 – June 2011; 899–905 Revista de Biología Tropical; Vol. 59 Núm. 2 (2011): Volumen 59 – Número regular 2 – Junio 2011; 899–905 Revista Biología Tropical; Vol. 59 N.º 2 (2011): Volume 59 – Regular number 2 – June 2011; 899–905 2215-2075 0034-7744 10.15517/rbt.v0i0 eng spa https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/3148/3055 https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/3148/35401 Copyright (c) 2011 Revista de Biología Tropical http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |