Epiphytische Moose in der Umgebung von Basel und ihre potentielle Eignung als Indikatoren der Luftqualität

Abstract

During the years of 1983 and 1984 the author collected mosses and liverworts growing on tree bark for an inventory of organisms existing in the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt (Basler Natur-Atlas 1985). The spatial distribution of the species present suggested an influence of air pollutants. For comparison a control region on the southern slope of the Jura Mountains was similarly studied. This region is adjacent to a cellulose factory which at that time was releasing great amounts of sulfur dioxide into the air. It turned out that the same species which exist in the whole area of the canton could be found also near the factory while the species confined to a restricted part of the canton with presumably better air quality were located in a region higher than 200 m above the factory. Measurements of the air pollution corroborate the presumption that the distribution is caused by the quality of the air only partially; other factors are probably also involved. It is suggested that the distribution of bryophyta in an area can be used as an unexpensive method for getting an idea of the repartition of pollutants, which should later be confirmed by detailed measurements.