Does the lichen flora already reflect changes in air quality in the Šalek valley after the construction of cleaning devices in the Šoštanj thermal power plant?

Lišaje zaradi njihove specifične biologije pogosto uporabljamo kot bioindikatorje kvalitete zraka. Njihova steljka je brez pravih tkiv in organov, nimajo razvite kutikule in korenin. Vse, kar potrebujejo za svojo rast in razvoj, črpajo iz zraka. Epifitske lišaje uporabljamo za (1) sledenje vnosa težkih kovin v okolje, saj se težke kovine v njih kopičijo, ter (2) za sledenje splošne onesnaženosti zraka, saj lišaji na območjih večjega onesnaženja začnejo propadati. Na območju Šaleške doline smo ugotavljali vnos kovin Pb, As, Zn in Cd v okolje z metodo aktivnega monitoringa, presaditvijo epifitskega lišaja vrste Hypogymnia physodes iz referenčnega območja (Rogla, Pohorje) na vplivno območje TEŠ za obdobje 6 mesecev. Ugotovili smo, da se težke kovine v lišajih kopičijo in da so se vsebnosti v primerjavi z začetnimivsebnostmi v lišajih z Rogle povečale. S pomočjo nemške (VDI), evropske (EU) in slovenske (SI) metode popisovanja lišajske flore smo ugotavljali tudi splošno onesnaženost ozračja. Ocena kakovosti zraka po VDI inEU metodi temelji na popisu prisotnih vrst epifitskih lišajev, medtem ko določitev kvalitete zraka po SI metodi temelji na popisu številčnosti in pokrovnosti posameznih tipov steljk epifitskih lišajev. Lichens are often used as bioindicators of air pollution due to their biology.Their thallus is without any true tissues and organs, the cuticle and roots are not developed. They get all needed substances from the air. Epiphytic lichens are used (1) for following the heavy metal input into the environment, since they accumulate them, and (2) for the assessment of generalpollution, since they start to decay in polluted areas. In the Šalek Valley area, the input of metals Pb, As, Zn, and Cd into the environment was assessed with the active monitoring method. The epiphytic lichen Hypogymnia physodes was transplanted from reference site (Rogla, Pohorje Mts) to the influential region of the Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant for the period of 6 months. The heavy metal content increased in transplanted lichens in comparison with content in lichens from Rogla. General air pollution was assessed on the basis of present lichen species. Three different methods for mapping epiphytic lichens were used: German (VDI), European (EU) and Slovenian(SI). The assessment of air quality with VDI and EU method is based on presence of different epiphytic lichen species, whereas the air quality assessment according to SI method is based on assessment of frequency and cover of three major thalli types of epiphytic lichens.