Biomonitoring and spatial variability of sulphur dioxide in urban air

Lichens are recognized as biological indicators of environmental pollution and also biomonitors of air quality due to their response capacity when exposed to polluted environments especially toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) carbon dioxide (CO2) heavy metals fluorides ozone nitrogen oxides and peroxyacetyl nitrate. This work evaluated the sulfur dioxide concentration of in the air in Santa Maria city using lichen kind Usnea as biomarker. Extracts including their substrates were collected in an area without the influence of pollutants and exposed in regions of the city with intense automotive traffic. This procedure was repeated throughout four seasons of one year. After each exposure the analysis of sulfur accumulated was done using the turbidimetric technique. The Usnea sp species showed to be good for monitoring of the atmospheric sulfur dioxide. In spite of the fuels commercialized today show low pollutants concentration the increase in the number of automotive vehicles in the urban center in Santa Maria city contributes significantly to the high concentration of sulfur dioxide in the atmospheric air