1. Lichens and atmospheric pollution
Viadana (MN) - ITALY
LLP Comenius 2008
Lichens and atmospheric pollution
2nd meeting
LEON
March 2009

2. 1ST STAGE FEBRUARY DATA COLLECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATE FEATURES OF EACH REGION TO INVESTIGATE DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA BY FOLLOWING THIS PATTERN:

3. VIADANA
1) description of the geographic characteristics: photos a) geographical position b) latitude c) phytoclimatic zone d) proximity to the sea, ocean, lakes, mountains  

4. VIADANA
2) description of the climate characters: a) temperatures min .- max. - average b) average annual rainfall, drought and rainy periods
3) description of the characteristics of production in the area: agriculture, industry, mining, etc.. photos

5. VIADANA
4) description of the presence or absence of plants disturbing the air quality: nuclear power plant, power plant, etc. photos 5) identifying the main sources of pollution a) intensive agriculture b) large industrial facilities

6. VIADANA is in the North of Italy Coordinates 44°55′N 10°31′E

7. VIADANA is on the PO the longest river in Italy, 652 Km (The main agricultural products around the river are cereals including - unusually for Europe – rice).

8. VIADANA is quite a big town
Elevation 26 m
Area 102.2 km²
(18,000 inhabitants.)

9. There is a big industrial area nearby the centre of the town
There is a big industrial area nearby the centre of the town. At the same time Viadana is still surrounded by a big agricultural landscape.
This is the reason why the factories and the houses are very close.

10. Our school is located in the south of Viadana, really close to the river Po area.
This will be the area where we will measure the Lichens presence (and we will use also the data from licheniinrete website).

11. To protect the town from the floods of the river, long embankments have been created. In the area between these embankments and the river there are many fields with poplars that control the water strength when the floods occur. At the same time the trees become stronger because of the water.
The Po flood of the year 2000

12. A typical continental weather
Climate of Viadana
A typical continental weather

13. Winter – Cold and Dry
Winter is the second least rainy season of the year
(after Summer), and obviously, the least sunny one.
There are frequent anticyclonic situations (high pressure), which bring long periods of cold and fog, with temperatures around 0°C.
Generally winter also brings some snowfalls.

14. Spring – Unstable and Rainy
In March and April the instability of the area becomes stronger and the first storms appear.
In May afternoons storms are frequent. At the end of May the region becomes hotter and sunnier because of the presence of the Azores anticyclone.

15. Summer – Hot and Dry (with occasional violent storms)
In June the anticyclone becomes more stable, but cold wind may come from the north, violent storms, which are very damaging for agriculture, occur.
In August the anticyclone begins to soften and temperatures come closer to acceptable values.

16. Autumn – Rainy and Foggy
September and October have usually great variations amongst the days.
Days of rain and fog can frequently alternate with sunny and warm days.
November is often the rainiest month of the year. It is also in this month that the floods on the river Po can appear.

17. Temperatures January average temperature 1,3 °C (1961-1990)
July average temperature
23,1 °C ( )
Annual average temperature
12,8 °C ( )

18. This diagram shows the evolution of the temperature and rainfall on the territory of Mantova’s province
As the graphic shows the maximum rainfall occurs in Spring and Autumn, more
precisely in the months of April and October.
As far as the temperature is concerned, we can see that the hottest month is July,
being the Winter months, December and January, the coldest ones of the year.

19. Air Pollution in Viadana
House heating.
Car traffic
Factory emissions

20. GENNAIO 2008
In the following graphics it is shown the progress of the concentration of PM10 (Particulate Matter) in some cities of the Po Valley, measured by the monitoring station of car traffic in Winter (January) and in Summer (August).
AGOSTO 2008
The Particulate Matter is one of the most important source of atmospheric pollution. Others sources of air pollution are sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide. This substances are caused by car traffic, factory emissions and house heating. The mechanised agriculture is also a cause of air pollution, especially as far as PM10 is concerned.

21. F:\LICHENI\ARPA Lombardia.mht
ARPA ( Regional Agency for the protection of the environment) monitors all the Italian territory. These substances are produced by factories, means of transportation and house heating.
The diagrams in this webpage demonstrate the daily progress of the main polluting substances in the environment.
When the substance reaches the info-level it means that we have to pay attention to this aspect.
When the substances reaches the alarm-level, it means that the situation is already very dangerous, because the PM10 damages the breathing system in babies, old people and in everybody who have breathing diseases and cardiac diseases, because when we breath in a wrong way our heart gets tired and has to make a big effort. So institutions have to carry out measures, as stopping car traffic, especially during weekends and bank holidays, impose a tax on cars that haven’t an ecologic engine (like euro4, euro5)
If within a year these substances pass the alarm-level more than 34 days, the country will be charged from European Union. And Italy in the first two months of 2009 has already passed this limit.

22. In Viadana there are a lot of wood industries.
The most important one in Europe is near our town.

23. This industry is also a leader in the chemical production.

24. The Po Valley is characterised by an intensive cultivation of cereals and soybean.
The agricultural mechanization produces particulate matter which damages the breathing system.

25. In our area there are a lot of farms for breeding pigs and cows
In our area there are a lot of farms for breeding pigs and cows. This factor also contributes to air and water pollution.