Lichen-Air Quality Pilot Study for Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and the City of Skagway, Alaska
Furbish CE, Linda G, Rector C. 2000. Lichen-Air Quality Pilot Study for Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and the City of Skagway, Alaska. National Park Service. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
The concentrations of chemical elements in lichen tissues from the Klondike Park - city of Skagway area were used to assess local air quality. Two tube lichens (Hypogymnia enteromorpha and H. inactiva) and rag lichen (Platismatia glauca) from the Klondike-Skagway area showed signs of air pollution. The Klondike-Skagway lichens had higher levels of heavy metals and sulfur in lichen tissues than baseline values for unpolluted areas of Southeast Alaska. The Klondike-Skagway area exceeded air pollution indication thresholds for the USDA-Forest Service Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regions for heavy metals, sulfur and other elements. All of this study's sites, two in the Skagway valley and two in the Taiya valley, showed signs of air pollution, but the site closest to the town hub of Skagway had the highest occurrence and highest levels of pollutants in lichen tissues. These results are discussed and options for continued monitoring are presented.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Furbish, C.; Linda, Geiser; Rector, Claudia
- Date of Issue
- 2000-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- KLGO
- Keywords
- air quality, lichens, metals