United States Department of Agriculture A Review of Lichen and Bryophyte Forest Service Elemental Content Literature with Pacific Northwest Region Reference to Pacific Northwest Species March 1999 Platismatia glauca A Review of Lichen and Bryophyte Elemental Content Literature with Reference to Pacific Northwest Species Prepared for United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest by Fred M. Rhoades Mycena Consulting 4320 Dumas Avenue Bellingham, WA 98226 Copies of this document can be obtained by contacting: Air Program Manager Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest 21905 64th ave. West Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 425-744-3200 ABSTRACT More than 500 references on the elemental content of lichens, mosses and liverworts are reviewed to facilitate the use of elemental analysis in environmental biomonitoring in the Pacific Northwest. An introductory section, four appendices, and a spreadsheet database are presented to help organize these studies: 1) an introduction to the subject, methodology, and review of the sources of elevated values for the more commonly-analyzed elements, including a table extracted from the spreadsheet database of species-specific background/enhancement levels for 8 lichen and 3 moss species of the Pacific Northwest, 2) a list of worldwide species and the studies that have used each species in elemental content work, 3) a list of common sources of enhanced levels of elements and the references referring to those sources, and 4) a matrix of elemental content for most commonly analyzed-for elements vs. Pacific Northwest species (listing reports for each species separately and including levels for other elements not in the main matrix). TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 APPROACHES TAKEN IN ELEMENTAL CONTENT STUDIES ................................................................................................... 2 METHODOLOGIES ................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 DATA DISPLAY AND ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 SINGLE SPECIES BACKGROUND/ENHANCED CUTOFF VALUES .......................................................................................... 5 NORTHWEST STUDIES ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8 ELEMENT BY ELEMENT DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................ 9 ALUMINUM.........................................................................................................................................................................................10 ARSENIC..............................................................................................................................................................................................11 BORON .................................................................................................................................................................................................11 CADMIUM............................................................................................................................................................................................11 CALCIUM.............................................................................................................................................................................................12 CHROMIUM .........................................................................................................................................................................................13 COPPER................................................................................................................................................................................................13 FLUORINE............................................................................................................................................................................................14 IRON .....................................................................................................................................................................................................14 LEAD ....................................................................................................................................................................................................14 MAGNESIUM .......................................................................................................................................................................................15 MANGANESE .......................................................................................................................................................................................16 MERCURY............................................................................................................................................................................................16 NICKEL ................................................................................................................................................................................................17 PHOSPHORUS.......................................................................................................................................................................................17 POTASSIUM .........................................................................................................................................................................................18 SODIUM ...............................................................................................................................................................................................18 SULFUR................................................................................................................................................................................................18 TITANIUM...........................................................................................................................................................................................19 ZINC .....................................................................................................................................................................................................20 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................................................................................................................21 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................................................22 APPENDIX A. WORLDWIDE SPECIES REFERENCED IN ELEMENTAL CONTENT RESOURCES ................................59 APPENDIX B. SOURCES OF ENHANCEMENTS .........................................................................................................................72 APPENDIX C: DATABASE OF ELEMENT CONTENT IN LICHEN AND BRYOHYTE SPECIES FOUND IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES AND CANADA................................................................................................74 APPENDIX D: SOURCES REFERENCED IN THE DATABASE TABLES ALONG WITH A BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY...................................................................................................................................................................................116 INTRODUCTION The goal of this report and the associated appendices is to put in one place, information of use in interpreting analyses of elemental content in Pacific Northwest species of lichens and bryophytes. For the purposes of this report this region is defined as southeastern (coastal) Alaska, southern British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, western Montana, Oregon, and northern California. The separate database (Appendix C) at the end of this report (and available electronically) records levels of elements in 77 lichen and bryophyte species known to occur in the Pacific Northwest. The database matrix lists content of 17 elements commonly reported with additional records of other, less commonly reported elements. Appendix A provides cross-reference studies of species of lichens and bryophytes investigated worldwide for elemental content. Appendix B cross-references studies documenting the effects on elemental content of different potential sources of elements. The References section includes the literature cited in this report, its appendices and the database, plus other references providing background or describing techniques. BACKGROUND Lichens are symbiotic associations of algae and fungi that produce plant-like bodies that appear to be single organisms. Bryophytes are