Short-term effects of enhanced UV-B and CO2 on lichens at different latitudes

Interaction effects of UV-B and CO2 on three lichens species, Cladonia arbusculo, Cetraria islandica and Stereocaulon paschale, from two latitudinal sites, 68N and 56N, were studied in a laboratory experiment. The response of the plants was recorded by measuring their chlorophyll fluorescence. All species had a similar response to enhanced UV-B depending on the latitude from which the population came and the time of the season when they were sampled. Overall, there was a significant increase in photosystem II yield (as measured by a fluorescence technique) due to UV-B and no separate effect due to enhanced CO2, although there was a significant interaction between CO2 and UV-B. The increase due to UV-B was at the low CO2 level. There were also significant differences in response due to latitude. The results contradict our hypotheses that negative effects of UV-B would be larger in the North than in the South and that a negative response should be especially large during the early season.