BIOINDICATION OF AIR QUALITY OF URBANISED TERRITORY WITH A METHOD OF LICHENS SURFACE SCANNING
In urban ecosystems which are subject to the greatest impact of atmospheric emissions the lichen-indicators exhibits numerous morphological changes. This study is the first in which some applica-tions of scanning probe microscopy to study the surface of lichens are displayed. The authors have analyzed the surface of the lichens growing in areas with different levels of air pollution. In areas of impact the lichens surface degrades, the cavities form, as a result the asymmetry is reduced, that is, the density histogram of 2D-function values becomes almost symmetrical. The specific surface area and roughness coefficient increase as well. The data of thalli state obtained with a scanning micro-scope enable to track the early stages of surface degradation and can be used as one of the criteria for assessment of the atmospheric emissions impact on living organisms.