Sampling and interpreting lichen diversity data for biomonitoring purposes

Although lichen diversity values are broadly used as bioindicators, mainly for air pollution, lichen communities can be substantially influenced by other ecological factors, such as tree species and forest structure, and microclimatic conditions. In particular, species composition may be a suitable indicator for climate and landuse effects as well. For effective utilization of lichen diversity data in biomonitoring studies including air pollution, ecosystem functioning, and forestry studies, standardized sampling procedure and avoiding sampling and non-sampling errors are the important aspects to be considered. Further interpretation of lichen diversity data requires careful data analysis for providing affirmative results related to ambient air quality. In any lichen biomonitoring program, expected deliverables are based on a hypothesis, which may be achieved by standardization of the sampling procedures based on the functional requirement of the dependent environmental variables. The chapter discusses the procedures and methodology for sampling and interpreting lichen diversity data for biomonitoring purposes.