Lichen biomonitoring after standardisation: another step towards systematisation?
(1) University of Genova, Italy. (2) University of Florence, Italy. (3) TerraData s.r.l., Italy. (4) University of Trieste, Italy. (5) University of Siena, Italy. (6) Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. (7) University of Bologna, Italy. (8) University of Pisa, Italy. (9) University of Palermo, Italy
In recent years, the Società Lichenologica Italiana, in collaboration with other national bodies and European researchers, has been at the forefront of the standardisation process of biomonitoring methods using lichens. From a technical point of view, standardisation has made it possible to make the data obtained more robust, comparable and reproducible, taking into account the details of the process, from experimental design to laboratory procedures. This presentation will give a brief overview of the state of the art of standardising bioindication and bioaccumulation methods using lichens in Italy to stimulate a discussion on their strengths and weaknesses. The latter include, among others: (i) the lack of a large-scale application (national and European) that could make lichen biomonitoring more visible to the general public.; (ii) the de facto lack of legal recognition of the methods, which would ensure a more systematic and continuous application, even within territorial monitoring bodies; (iii) the lack of standardised recommendations for interpreting the results of some methods (e.g. biondication), which weakens their power and robustness.
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