Our temperature inversion this week triggered a burn ban for many counties, including King County. This is because there is a lighter, warmer air mass above colder moister air. The air masses don't mix vertically, and the high pressure air mass above acts like a ceiling. As that ceiling lowers, pollutants in the atmosphere are trapped closer to where we live and breathe.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets federal standards for certain air pollutants. These air pollutants are: fine and coarse particulate matter (like soot), ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead. The reason we were asked to stop burning wood is because wood burning produces a lot of particulates and carbon monoxide. Particulates are bad for your lungs and carbon monoxide decreases your blood?s ability to exchange oxygen.
For many ecologists, lichens can be one way to monitor the quality of the air. Many lichens are very sensitive to pollution in the air. When there are too many harmful airborne pollutants, lichens die. Because the presence or absence of certain lichen species is easily recorded, and has in some cases been recorded at different times in the past, lichens can be a record through time of changing patterns of air quality.
European studies in the 1970s were able to create a graded series of 10 zones with indicator species for each zone, varying from highly polluted to basically unpolluted or pristine. Since similar species of lichens exist in North America, we can learn a lot from that study. Join Camp Long naturalists and understand more about lichens, their special qualities and how they contribute to our survival.
Lichen, Moss and More!
Ages 1 and older
Is it like a lichen, more of a moss or a fungus among us? Did you miss it last time? Please call to register and come again! Explore the lives of these unique life forms at Camp Long up close and personal. Discover the beauty, lifestyles, uses and significance of lichens, moss and fungi. Please register by January 30 by calling (206) 684-7434.
Instructor: Dana Catts
Location: Forest
January 31 Sat 10 a.m.?Noon
Course #37139 Activity Fee $8
