Distribution in Portugal of some pollutants in the lichen Parmelia sulcata

During the months of July and August 1993 a lichen (Palmelia sulcata Taylor) collection campaign was held in Portugal where samples were obtained from olive tree bark at 228 sites, following a grid of 10x10 km along the Atlantic coast and 50x50 km in the interior of the country. The samples were analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis and proton induced X-ray emission techniques. Concentration data patterns for the pollutants As, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, S, Sb, Se, and V were obtained for the whole country surface by making use of an extinction rule of 1/r(3), preventing any cut-off distance from being artificially introduced. Some pollution sources were identified: (1) oil-powered plants on the Lisboa-Setubal axis CV, Ni, (2) coal-power plants in Porto and Sines (S, Se), (3) traffic in the northern area and the Lisbon-Setubal axis (Pb), (4) a chemical industry south of Porto (Hg, As), and (5) soil influence (Cr, Sb). Arsenic and chromium results largely exceed, in a few areas, the concentrations acceptable to plants, and in a few spots also Hg, Ni, and Pb data. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.