Accumulation of Arsenic and Fluoride in Lichen Pyxine cocoes (Sw.) Nyl., Growing in the Vicinity of Coal-based Thermal Power Plant at Raebareli, India

ABSTRACT: Levels of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F) were determined in an epiphytic lichen Pyxine cocoes (Sw.) Nyl., collected from the vicinity of coal based thermal power plant of Raebareli, India. Both the elements are abundant in lichen thallus, while their substratum contained negligible amount. The As ranged between 8.9±0.7 to 77.3±2.0 µg g-1 dry weight in thallus and 1.0±0.0 to 9.7±0.2 µg g-1 dry weight in substratum; whereas F ranged between 9.3±0.52 to 105.8±2.3 µg g-1 dry weight in thallus however, it not detected in the substratum. The quantities of As in thallus increased with decreasing distance from the power plant, but F showed an opposite trend. The distribution of As and F around the power plant showed positive correlation with distance in all directions with better dispersion in western side as indicated by the concentration coefficient (R2). The F accumulaiton patterns in lichens clearly indicate that the  coal burning in power plant is the major contributor, and has its maximum levels on the down wind side. The analysis of variance and LSD indiacted that the As, F concentrations among lichen thallus is significant at p< 0.01% level. Key words: Bioaccumulation, Arsenic, Fluoride, Lichen, Thermal Power Plant Please Cite This Article As: R. Bajpai et al. 2010. Accumulation of Arsenic and Fluoride in Lichen Pyxine cocoes (Sw.) Nyl., Growing in the Vicinity of Coal-based Thermal Power Plant at Raebareli, India. J. Exp. Sci. 1(4):34-37

Young people's knowledge, attitude, and behaviour on STI/HIV/AIDS in the context of Nepal: a systematic review.

Sexual and reproductive health of young people has become a major health problem in recent decades. Recent and rapidly increasing Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) rates show an urgent need for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV prevention interventions in Nepal

Comparative analysis of the area of existing land use and master plan of Adigrat Town

In this paper area of existing land use and master plan of Adigrat town was compared. To map the existing landuse of the town Areal images with 15 cm spatial resolution were used. Geodatabase created be Ethiopian mapping agency was used to collect information of land parcels. Land parcels were classified, codified, analyzed with percentage analysis and mapped based on field survey and master plan of Adigrat town. Master plan map prepared by municipal office was changed from CAD format to shape file format. The area of existing land use was compared with the area master plan of the town.As a result growth was calculated in the area of ward no. one as 5.17%, ward no. two as 26.59% ward no. three as 7.25%, ward no. four as 33.23%, ward no. five as 4.49% and ward no. six as 6.02%

Lichen diversity of Padder Valley Kishtwar (J&K), India

Lichens are one of the most successful group of organisms and form an important aspect of biodiversity of any region. But still lichens are under explored in most of regions.&nbsp; The present work has been carried out in Padder Valley, Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir (J&amp;K). A thorough survey of the lichen diversity from all the possible habitats was conducted in the study area which indicated the presence of 110 species belonging to 54 genera and 23 families. Parmiliaceae has been recorded as the largest family (16 genera, 27 species) and is followed by Physciaceae (8 genera, 14 species). Four families have been observed to be monotypic. Lecanora has been recorded as dominant genera with 7 species followed by Peltigera with 5 species. Corticolous was most preferred substratum exhibited by 61 species while foliose was the most dominant type of growth form represented by 52 species. The study has added 94 lichen taxa as new records for district Kishtwar and is first of its kind in Padder Valley, J&amp;K

Effect of elevation gradient on the distribution of lichens and mosses of central Himalayan region, Uttarakhand, India

The present investigation aimed to determine the distribution pattern of 27 species of lichens and 7 species of mosses within five altitudinal bands between 3100-4000m near Badrinath area in the Central Himalaya. Melanelia infumata, Xanthoria elegans were the dominant among the lichens, whereas Bryum argenteum was dominant among mosses. The species diversity exhibits a distinct pattern at different altitudinal band. The number of both lichens and moss species decline towards the higher elevation gradient. The rock inhabiting species exhibit their dominance in higher altitude while soil inhabiting lichens dominates in the lower altitudes. The chlorolichens dominates all the sites in lower and higher elevation while cyanolichens have a restricted distribution in the area

Distribution, Diversity of Lichens in Terai region of Kumaun with reference to Environmental Pollution

The present study is an attempt to explore the diversity and distribution of lichen flora of Terai region of Kumaun Himalaya of Uttarakhand, which includes different localities of district Udham Singh Nagar, Ramnagar and Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve. An enumeration of 146 species belonging to 46 genera and 24 families is provided, based on the account of lichen species published in literature, specimens preserved in herbarium and fresh collection of lichens from localities not explored earlier. Based on the available diversity and distribution pattern of lichens, an attempt has been made to map, distinguish the polluted and non-polluted localities of the study area

Lichen flora of Surinsar-Mansar wildlife sanctuary, J&K

The present study conducted to enumerate the lichens from the so far unexplored Surinsar-Mansar wildlife sanctuary, J&amp;K, revealed the presence of 30 species belonging to 18 genera from 14 families. The species belonged to different growth forms (21 crustose, 8 foliose and 1 fruticose) and are also growing on various substrata (corticolous-17 and saxicolous-13). Mangifera indica hosted the maximum number (12) while Pinus roxburghii did not host any lichen species in this area

Secondary metabolite variability in lichen genus Usnea in India: A potential source for bioprospection

The species of lichen genus Usnea are well known for their worldwide distribution and medicinal properties due to presence of usnic acid. The genus is represented by more than 300 species in the world out of which 57 species are reported from India. In India, the species of Usnea grows profusely in higher altitudes of Western Ghats and Himalayan regions. 20 different secondary metabolites are known from Indian Usnea species which have potential biological and physiological significance. Salazinic acid, stictic acid, norstictic acid and barbatic acid are the most dominant secondary metabolites along with usnic acid. Apart from the natural thalli the cultivated mycobiont of Usnea species also produced many of these compounds in culture conditions. The secondary compounds present in Usnea species are significant source of natural products for commercial uses

Fungal Succession in Composite Soil on Staled Agar Disc at different Staling Periods

In the present study, the fungal colony interaction of composite soil was assessed under in vitro condition in virgin and staled agar discs after different staling periods i.e. 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours by using Warcup method to examine the tolerance potential of soil mycoflora present in the composite soil against the growth substances produced by the precolonized fungal colonies. It was observed that fungal growth pattern was different in each agar disc plate. It was also noticed that there was a successive decrease in the number of fungi colonizing on the reverse side of the staled agar discs. Only the most resistant microfungi i.e., Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. luchuensis, Aspergillus sulphureus, Penicillium citrinum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Trichoderma viride were able to persist on staled agar disc after 96 and 120 hours of long staling periods

Distribution pattern and heavy metal accumulation in lichens of Bangalore city with special reference to Lalbagh garden

Occurrence of 30 species of lichens belonging to 19 genera and 15 families in 12 localities of Bangalore city is reported. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) campus and Lalbagh garden record the maximum number of 24 and 18 species of lichens respectively, which can be directly attributed to the presence of a variety of trees in the area providing diverse substrate for lichen growth. Heavy-metal accumulation in few prominent lichens of some localities is also analysed. Cr and Pb were maximum in Chrysothrix candelaris (L.) Laundon, at AMCO Batteries area with 95.29 and 623.95 μg g-1 dry wt. respectively. Fe and Cu were maximum in Bulbothrix isidiza (Nyl.) Hale and Pyxine petricola Nyl. at IISc campus with 22721 and 338.12 μg g-1 dry wt. respectively, while Lecanora perplexa Brodo at Lalbagh garden has 531.5 μg g-1 dry wt. of Zn. The lichen flora of Lalbagh garden is compared to an earlier enumeration. It is interesting to note that in the last 18 years lichen flora of the area has changed significantly, as only four species were common between the two studies. The fast pace of urbanization together with air pollution may probably be the reason for the change in lichen flora of this area. The present number, type of lichen and the level of metals accumulated will be a record for conducting future biomonitoring studies in this fastest-growing city of India