Epiphytic lichens as indicators of environmental quality in Rome.

A synthesis of the studies on lichen diversity carried out in Rome over the period 1982-2003 is presented. In this work, the Lichen Diversity (LD) method has been applied. Besides air pollution, the most important variable affecting the epiphytic lichen flora of Rome, currently updated to 102 taxa, is the influence of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Significant changes in the lichen flora have been noted over the past 20 years, with the lowest diversity now being found in the urban centre and in the eastern and southern sectors, while the "lichen desert" area has decreased in parallel with decreasing concentrations of CO, NO(x) and SO2.