Towards a New Interpretative Framework for Air Quality and Climate Biomonitoring With Lichens: A Meta‐Analysis of Surveys Using the European Protocol

Air pollution and climate change remain critical environmental challenges, particularly in urban areas, where conventional monitoring networks are often too sparse to capture fine-scale exposure gradients due to their high operational costs. Epiphytic lichen biomonitoring provides a valuable complementary approach, as these organisms are sensitive to both air pollutants and climate conditions. Despite the existence of a standardized European protocol, large-scale implementation is hindered by the absence of a robust interpretative framework and incomplete knowledge of species-specific responses to pollutants and climate variables. This study initiated the development of a standardized interpretative framework for European lichen biomonitoring data by identifying a core set of indicator species with clear responses to major air pollutants and climate variables. To achieve this, we compiled and harmonized raw lichen data from 58 studies that applied the European protocol and modeled the response of 43 lichen species to dominant air pollutants (NH<sub>3</sub>, NO<sub>x</sub>, and SO<sub>2</sub>) and climate variables (mean air temperature, mean relative humidity, and temperature seasonality). While confirming established trends, our models allowed us to decouple species responses to reduced (NH<sub>3</sub>) vs. oxidized (NO<sub>x</sub>) nitrogen compounds, a distinction rarely achievable in local studies due to insufficient contrast in pollutant gradients. We also provided actionable recommendations to enhance comparability, such as prioritizing widespread, well-studied tree species and standardizing lichen taxa groupings. Our study established a foundation for a harmonized European interpretative framework by identifying low-bias, ecologically meaningful indicator species. Future efforts should focus on translating sensitivity classifications into actionable air quality indices and refining regional-scale assessments.

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Journal
Global Change Biology
Published
2025-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70632
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Lichen and fungal ecology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.03

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article

Towards a New Interpretative Framework for Air Quality and Climate Biomonitoring With Lichens: A Meta‐Analysis of Surveys Using the European Protocol

Franc Batič, Hugo Counoy, Laura Zucconi, Helena Poličnik et al.
1 citations
Global Change Biology
Lichen and fungal ecology
3.03
article

Towards a New Interpretative Framework for Air Quality and Climate Biomonitoring With Lichens: A Meta‐Analysis of Surveys Using the European Protocol

Franc Batič, Hugo Counoy, Laura Zucconi, Helena Poličnik, Élise Lebreton, Cristina Branquinho, Luca Paoli, Renato Gerdol, Annabelle Austruy, Yannick Agnan, Lisa Brancaleoni, Theo Llewellyn, Esteve Llop, Antonio Mingo, Pier Luigi Nimis, M.B. Cioffi, Laure Turcati, Immacolata Catalano, Sébastien Leblond, Sirkku Manninen, Yorick Ferrez, Pedro Pinho, Piret Lõhmus, Gregory Agnello, Stefano Martellos, Theresa Möller, Paolo Giordani, Stefano Loppi, Patrick Bogaert, Caroline Meyer, Silvana Munzi, Miris Castello, Isaac Garrido‐Benavent, Joana Marques, Anna Guttová, Paula Matos, Bernardo Rocha, Julien Dron, David Svoboda, Chantal Van Haluwyn, Claire Boucheron, Catherine Biache, Jean-Christophe J.-C. Gattus, Catherine Duflo, Deborah Valbonetti
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Air pollution and climate change remain critical environmental challenges, particularly in urban areas, where conventional monitoring networks are often too sparse to capture fine-scale exposure gradients due to their high operational costs. Epiphytic lichen biomonitoring provides a valuable complementary approach, as these organisms are sensitive to both air pollutants and climate conditions. Despite the existence of a standardized European protocol, large-scale implementation is hindered by the absence of a robust interpretative framework and incomplete knowledge of species-specific responses to pollutants and climate variables. This study initiated the development of a standardized interpretative framework for European lichen biomonitoring data by identifying a core set of indicator species with clear responses to major air pollutants and climate variables. To achieve this, we compiled and harmonized raw lichen data from 58 studies that applied the European protocol and modeled the response of 43 lichen species to dominant air pollutants (NH<sub>3</sub>, NO<sub>x</sub>, and SO<sub>2</sub>) and climate variables (mean air temperature, mean relative humidity, and temperature seasonality). While confirming established trends, our models allowed us to decouple species responses to reduced (NH<sub>3</sub>) vs. oxidized (NO<sub>x</sub>) nitrogen compounds, a distinction rarely achievable in local studies due to insufficient contrast in pollutant gradients. We also provided actionable recommendations to enhance comparability, such as prioritizing widespread, well-studied tree species and standardizing lichen taxa groupings. Our study established a foundation for a harmonized European interpretative framework by identifying low-bias, ecologically meaningful indicator species. Future efforts should focus on translating sensitivity classifications into actionable air quality indices and refining regional-scale assessments.

Global Change BiologyVol. 31(12)
University of Siena (IT), University of Pisa (IT), University of Helsinki (FI), Università degli Studi della Tuscia (IT), University of Trieste (IT), University of Ljubljana (SI), University of Liège (BE), Universität Hamburg (DE), Universitat de València (ES), Délégation Paris 7 (FR), Universidade do Porto (PT), Parthenope University of Naples (IT), University of Ferrara (IT), Université Paris Cité (FR), Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK), Charles University (CZ), Institut Français (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besançon (FR), Sustainability Institute (ZA), Institute of Botany of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK), Centro de Estudos em Geografia e Ordenamento do Territorio (PT), Šolski Center Velenje (SI), Federico II University Hospital (IT), Agenzia Regionale Prevenzione e Ambiente della Regione Emilia-Romagna (IT), Office National des Forêts (FR), Ospedale per gli Infermi (IT), Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES), Minnesota Veterans Medical Research and Education Foundation (US), Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia (PT), Moulinex (France) (FR), Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (FR), Department of Agricultural Sciences (RU), Observatoire des sciences de l'Univers Paris-Centre Ecce Terra, Imperial College London (GB), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (FR), University of Tartu (EE), University of Naples Federico II (IT), University of Genoa (IT), Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (US), University of Bologna (IT), UCLouvain (BE)
Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Région Normandie, Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et dans l’Agriculture
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Lichen and fungal ecology
3.03
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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