title: Traffic represents the main source of pollution in small Mediterranean urban areas as seen by lichen functional groups.
abstract: The land-use type (residential, green areas, and traffic) within relatively small Mediterranean urban areas determines significant changes on lichen diversity, considering species richness and functional groups related to different ecological factors. Those areas with larger volume of traffic hold lower species diversity, in terms of species richness and lichen diversity value (LDV). Traffic areas also affect the composition of the lichen community, which is evidenced by sensitive species. The abundance of species of lichens tolerant to low levels of eutrophication diminishes in traffic areas; oppositely, those areas show a higher abundance of species of lichens tolerating high levels of eutrophication. On the other hand, residential and green areas have an opposite pattern, mainly with species highly tolerant to eutrophication being less abundant than low or moderate ones. The characteristics of tree bark do not seem to affect excessively on lichen composition; however, tree species shows some effect that should be considered in further studies.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (cE3c-FC-UL), Campo Grande Bloco C2 5° Piso, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal. ellop@ub.edu.|Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. ellop@ub.edu.
authors.forename: Esteve
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8298-5573
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Llop
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (cE3c-FC-UL), Campo Grande Bloco C2 5° Piso, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.|Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa (CERENA-IST-UL), Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pinho
authors.affiliation: Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa (CERENA-IST-UL), Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Manuel C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa (CERENA-IST-UL), Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (cE3c-FC-UL), Campo Grande Bloco C2 5° Piso, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Branquinho
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D008011:Lichens; D024301:Plant Bark; D011174:Portugal; D014197:Trees; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
chemical_list: D001335:Vehicle Emissions
keywords: Air quality; Bioindication; Functional traits; Pollution; Small urban areas