Elemental composition of selected lichen species growing on the Balkan Peninsula

Abstract

The amount of nineteen elements in eleven different lichen species, six fruticose (Bryoria capillaris, Bryoria fuscescens, Cladonia rangiformis, Ramalina capitata, Usnea chaetophora and Evernia prunastri) and five foliose (Hypogymnia tubulosa, Lobaria pulmonaria, Peltigera horizontalis, Umbilicaria cylindrica and Umbilicaria crustulosa) from five natural areas of the Balkan Peninsula (Serbia and Bulgaria) were determined by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Among macronutrients, the highest content was observed for Ca and K, while Mg and Na were represented in the smallest amount. Fe, Mn, Zn and Ba were the most abundant trace elements in contrast to Cd and Co, whose concentrationс wеre the lowest.