Engaging citizens in an air quality assessment using lichen biomonitoring: a case study of the Lichens GO project
(2024) IABEP — Location: Lisbonne (4.November.2024)
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- Air pollution has a long-term impact on human and ecosystem health. In urban environments, air quality depends on both sources and microclimatic conditions, leading to considerable heterogeneity between neighborhood and even between streets. However, high-resolution data are relatively scarce due to the limited number of measurement points in urban environments. The use of biomonitoring data derived from citizen science can overcome this resolution challenge by filling spatial gaps. This participatory approach also raises public awareness of current environmental concerns, while introducing them to the scientific method. An example is the French Lichens GO project (www.lichensgo.eu) that aims to assess air quality through lichen biomonitoring using a simplified version of the standardized European protocol to allow comparisons with expert data. To limit the sampling effort, while improving the data quality, we made a series of adjustments during co-construction phases. For instance, we evaluated the performance of several protocol steps (including site selection or potential identification observer bias) and the protocol applicability (e.g., time required, list of lichen species considered, etc.). Since the program was launched in 2018, we collected more than 2800 observations from 338 sampling sites. Some locations (e.g., Paris, Clermont-Ferrand, Limoges) presented an extensive sampling effort, enabling us to better understand the spatial heterogeneity of urban air quality data. Through this project, we seek to empower citizens to actively take part in environmental monitoring, while generating valuable data for air quality assessment at the national level.
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Citations
Agnan, Y., Counoy, H., Peyrissat, F., Lambert, C., & Turcati, L. (2024). Engaging citizens in an air quality assessment using lichen biomonitoring: a case study of the Lichens GO project. IABEP, Lisbonne. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/241123