González, C. M./ M. Lingua/ G. L. Gudiño 2012: Air quality assessment on a section of the river basin Suquía (Cordoba, Argentina) by employing the biomonitor Usnea amblyoclada. - Revista Internacional de Contaminacion Ambiental28(4): 311-322. [RLL List # 231 / Rec.# 34591] Keywords: Atmospheric pollution/ Biomonitoring/ Chemical parameters/ Lichens/ Suquía river/ air quality/ assessment method/ atmospheric pollution/ biomonitoring/ effluent/ lichen/ pigment/ river basin/ sampling/ sewage treatment/ sulfur/ urban pollution/ volatile organic compound/ Argentina/ Cordoba [Argentina]/ Suquia Basin
Abstract: The aim of this study was to estimate the air quality along a section in the Suquía river during winter period using as active biomonitor Usnea amblyoclada. Four sampling sites were selected: two sites located upstream of the effluent treatment plant Bajo Grande, where one of them corresponds to Córdoba city (one of the most polluted cities in Argentina) and the other two sites were located downstream of the plant. After the three-month exposure, on the transplanted lichens, photosynthetic pigments, malondialdehyde and hydroperoxy conjugated dienes, as peroxidation products and sulphur accumulation, were determined. A pollution index was calculated with some parameters and for each sampling site, allowing the establishment of different air qualities. The pollution index, a good estimator of global damage on the biomonitor, allowed discriminating different atmospheric qualities; reflecting that the city of Córdoba site is the most impaired in its air quality. The results showed that urban conditions, were those that produced more damage on the biomonitor during the studied period. Biological monitoring using U. amblyoclada in these conditions did not allow establishing differences in air pollution at sites downstream of the sewage treatment plant. Thus, the different water qualities and their potential volatile organic compounds contribution did not influence significantly the air quality in order to establish differences between these two areas according to the impact on the biomonitor.