GEOECOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE ATMOSPHERIC AIR CONDITION OF THE CITY OF KALININGRAD WITH THE APPLICATION OF THE LICHEN INDICATION MAP METHOD
Due to their symbiotic nature and morphological features, lichens are very sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, they have proven themselves as a test object for assessing the status of the atmospheric environment. At present, in many regions of the world, the effect of air eutrophication is observed, caused by the entry into the atmosphere of a large number of chemically active nitrogen compounds (ammonia, nitrogen oxides, ammonium, nitrates). Increased deposition of nitrogen compounds has a negative impact on the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. The problem of pollution is especially acute in cities, for instance, in Kaliningrad, the excess of permissible concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and suspended matter is recorded annually. As physical and chemical methods give qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the status of atmospheric air pollution, but do not allow one to judge the biological consequences of pollution, it is promising to use modern lichen indication methods that, in combination with a standard approach, could obtain the most complete information on the state of air in the city. For the lichen indication study, a standardized method for assessing the diversity of epiphytic lichens, VDI 3957 Part 13, was chosen. The study showed that the proportion of eutrophication indicator types (nitrophytes) increases in the city and the proportion of reference species decreases compared to the background territories. Acсording to the lichen indication method, most of the surveyed urban area is characterized by poor air quality (62 %, 24 squares). The smallest proportion (5 %, 2 squares) are zones with high quality of atmospheric air covering the territory of city parks. A very strong effect of eutrophication compounds is found in the overwhelming number of squares – 95 %. The most part of the city of Kaliningrad is characterized by a very low air quality with a very strong effect of eutrophication compounds.