Influence of sun irradiance and water availability on lichen photosynthetic pigments during a Mediterranean summer |
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Authors: | Luca Paoli Tommaso Pisani Silvana Munzi Carlo Gaggi Stefano Loppi |
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Institution: | (1) CEBV—Centre for Ecology and Plant Biology, Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Bloco C2, Piso 4, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal;(2) Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden |
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Abstract: | This study was carried out to investigate changes in lichen photosynthetic pigments induced by different combinations of light
irradiance and water availability during a Mediterranean summer. To this purpose, thalli of three epiphytic lichens with a
markedly different ecology concerning photo-hygrophytism, namely Evernia prunastri (hygro-mesophytic), Flavoparmelia caperata (mesophytic) and Xanthoria parietina (xero-mesophytic), were transplanted for 30 days to N- and S-facing cardinal exposures in central Italy. To investigate the
effect of thallus hydration, at each cardinal exposure 50% of thalli were hydrated daily with deionised water. The results
showed that changes in the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments are species-specific and consist in a general depression
of photosynthetic pigments only in the hygro-mesophytic species E. prunastri. The pattern of photosynthetic pigments was also investigated in spontaneous samples along contrasting aspects. In this case,
X. parietina from S-facing slopes, adapted to direct solar influx, showed higher pigment content than N-facing thalli; F. caperata and E. prunastri avoid direct extreme solar radiation and assimilation pigments were influenced more by the shadowing of tree canopies than
by the cardinal exposure. The influence of drought on lichen photosynthetic pigments in the Mediterranean area is discussed. |
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