Resumen

Lichens are organisms constituted by the symbiotic association between a fungus and an algae or cyanobacterium. They are characterized because they have no root or cuticle acquiring all nutrients by direct exposure of the atmosphere, for this reason they are very effective air quality bioindicators. The objective of this research was to evaluate the atmospheric quality in vehicular traffic areas and green areas of the municipality of Melgar-Tolima, through indexes based on lichens communities. For this, were selected 10 green zones (ZV) and 10 vehicular traffic zones (ZTV) collecting the lichens species present in each forophyte. The most abundant species were Pyxine pyxinoides (3014 cm2), Crypthotecia sp.3 (2102 cm2) and Crypthotecia sp.1 (1756 cm2). To perform the atmospheric quality assessment of the ZV and ZTV, the Lichens Diversity Index (LDV) was used which showed that the ZV had the highest value. The Atmospheric Purity Index (IPA) modified by Jaramillo and Botero showed that the ZV had a higher value than the ZTV, this same result was evidenced in the IPA index of Le Blanc and Sloover, where it was determined by general linear models that there is a significant difference between the two zones. In addition, the parameters of humidity, temperature, DAP, elevation and height were determined, likewise, the Shannon, Margalef and Dominance indexes were used, where Shannon and Margalef revealed higher values in the ZV, while Dominance was in the ZTV where higher values were presented.