Spores of lichen-forming fungi in the mycoaerosol and their relationships with climate factors
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2014
Abstract:
Fungal particulates are a dominant component of the bioaerosol, but aerobiological studies traditionally focused
on a limited set of fungi having relevance as allergens or plant pathogens. This study first analyzes
the occurrence of lichen meiospores in the mycoaerosol, quantitatively evaluating in the atmosphere of an
alpine environment the occurrence of polar diblastic spores, unequivocally attributable to the lichen family
Teloschistaceae. The analysis of air-samples collected one week per month for one year with a Hirst-type
sampler displayed a low percentage occurrence of polar-diblastic spores (b0.1%) with respect to the whole
mycoaerosol, dominated by Cladosporium. Spearman's correlation tests on aerobiological and climatic data
highlighted a strong relationship between the detection of Teloschistaceae spores and rainfall events, excluding
seasonal patterns or daily rhythms of dispersion. The fact that all the air-sampled spores were attributable
to the species of Teloschistaceae occurring in the site, together with laboratory observations of predominant
short range dispersal patterns for polar diblastic and other lichen spores, indicated that sexual reproduction
is mostly involved in the local expansion of colonization, dispersal from a long distance appearing a less probable
phenomenon. These findings indicated that responses of lichen communities to climate factors, usually
related to physiological processes, also depend on their influence on meiospore dispersal dynamics. Spatial
limitations in dispersal, however, have to be taken into account in evaluating lichen distributional shifts as
indicators of environmental changes.
Tipologia CRIS:
03A-Articolo su Rivista
Keywords:
aerobiology; biometeorology; climate change; dispersal dynamics; lichen meiospores; Teleschistaceae
Elenco autori:
S.E. Favero-Longo;S. Sandrone;E. Matteucci;L. Appolonia;R. Piervittori
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