Integrated environmental quality monitoring around an underground methane storage station

- The environmental quality of an area with a methane station was evaluated.
- Two monitorings were applied: measures of air components and lichens biomonitoring.
- The two monitorings results were in agreement.
- The environment quality of the area surrounding the station did not show signs of declining.
- Results suggest the validity of biomonitoring to integrate the environmental network for pollution assessing.

The study reports an integrated environmental quality monitoring of a 100 km2 area in central Italy mostly occupied by an underground station of methane storage, working since 1982. The nitrogen oxides, ozone and isoprene concentration detached with a network monitoring of passive filters were compared with the results of lichens biomonitoring.Data from the two monitorings were in accordance: there was an inversely correlation between lichen biodiversity index (IBL) and NOx (−0.96) and ozone (−0.80), and a positive correlation between IBL and isoprene (0.67). IBL indicated that the area ranged between medium naturalness and medium alteration status, values fully compatible with the medium-high level of eutrophication, caused by intensive agriculture. Only two areas were in high alteration status, due to their proximity to glass factories and to a quarries area. Despite almost thirty years of activity, the environment quality of the area around the station did not show signs of declining.