Ecology of soil lichens from Pliocene clay badlands of central Italy in relation to geomorphology and vascular vegetation

Abstract

The terricolous lichen communities occurring under a temperate sub-arid to sub-humid climate (mean annual rainfall about 750 mm) on Pliocene clay soils of southern Tuscany (central Italy) are similar to those reported for arid or sub-arid areas, with mean annual rainfall around 200 mm. The distribution of these communities is influenced by the availability of bare soil and percentage cover of vascular plants. Where vascular communities are more important and pedogenetic processes lead to the development of more structured and evolved soils, pioneer lichen communities of the Toninio-Psoretum decipientis are replaced by communities such as that of Cladonietum convolutae, which are more capable of competing for light and nutrients with dense communities of tall grasses such as Bromus erectus. The distribution patterns of Artemisia cretacea and B. erectus among vascular plants, and Fulgensia fulgens and Cladonia rangiformis among lichens, account for most of the variability in vascular and lichen communities, respectively.