Lichens reveal the quality of indoor air in Selangor, Malaysia  

作　　者：Azlan Abas Sytty Mazian Mazlan Mohd Talib Latif Kadaruddin Aiyub Norhayati Muhammad Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir 

机构地区：[1]Centre for Research in Development,Social and Environment(SEEDS),Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,Bangi,Malaysia. [2]Research Centre for Sustainability Science and Governance,Institute of Environment and Development(LESTARI),Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,Bangi,Malaysia. [3]Department of Environmental Science and Natural Resources,Faculty of Science and Technology,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,Bangi,Malaysia. [4]Panel on Food Technology,Faculty of Applied Science and Technology,Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia,Batu Pahat,Malaysia.

出　　处：《Ecological Processes》2021年第1期69-76,共8页生态过程（英文）

基　　金：supported by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia through a research grant(GUP-2018-032).

摘　　要：Background:Indoor air quality(IAQ)is a concern in kindergartens as children spend much of their time there.Yet,there is a shortage of biological indicators needed for assessing IAQ.Thus,this study evaluated IAQ using transplanted lichen Usnea misaminensis as a biological indicator.Methods:Lichen samples,collected from Bukit Larut,Perak,Malaysia,were exposed to indoor and outdoor environments in an urban area(Ummi Aiman Kindergarten)and a rural area(Ummi Qaseh Pelangi Kindergarten)for 2 months during August 15 to October 14,2019.The concentrations of 12 selected elements and the vitality of the lichens were then evaluated.Results:Increased concentrations of eleven of the twelve elements deposited in the lichen samples in both urban and rural areas were observed.For both areas,the element concentrations in the samples from the indoor environment was lower than those from the outdoor environment,and those in the rural area were lower than those from in the urban area,suggesting the impacts of traffic emissions.The vitality of the lichens showed no significant change in indoor environment,compared to that in outdoor environment,indicating that even exposed to indoor environment,the lichens remained effective biological indicators as same as they were in the outdoor environment.Conclusions:Lichens are effective biological indicators for both outdoor and indoor environments.Furthermore,outdoor emissions could influence IAQ,which could be problematic in densely populated areas such as kindergartens.Mitigation measures should be taken.

关 键 词：Biological indicator Transplanting technique Indoor environment Trace element Usnea misaminensis 

分 类 号：X52[环境科学与工程—环境工程]