Criptógamas epífitas (líquenes y briófitos) como bioindicadores de la calidad de aire en la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Abstract: Air quality is a global problem, and in Ecuador this problem has been detected in Quito, Ambato, Loja and now in Cuenca. In order to provide information on air quality, an investigation was carried out in the city of Cuenca, in three high-traffic urban areas and three control zones. Richness and composition of bryophytes and lichens were recorded in 60 trees, where a quadrant of 10 x 50 cm was established. A T-test was used for the richness and Margalef index between the two zones and a non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) and permutation-based multivariate analysis for species composition. A total of 85 species were recorded, 77 in control areas and 27 in urban areas, distributed in 54 lichens, 19 mosses and 12 liverworts. The results revealed significant changes between control and urban areas, indicating that trees in control areas have a higher richness than urban areas, and the composition of lichens and bryophytes differs between the two zones. The study provides evidence that epiphytic cryptogams are sensitive indicators of air quality in urban environments, highlighting significant differences in species composition between high-traffic areas.