Floor lichen diversity under different vegetation types in Two-river Source Nature Reserve in Altay Mountains, Xinjiang

Abstract

Lichens are present in a wide range of habitats throughout the world. Due to their unique biodiversity, we explored the species composition of floor lichens under different vegetation types in Two-river Source Nature Reserve in Altay Mountains, Xinjiang. The sampling sites covered six vegetation types including mountain desert, mountain grassland, mixed coniferous and broadleaved forest, coniferous forest, subalpine meadow, and alpine meadow. The results showed that the lichen flora in this area is rich and complex. A total of 46 floor lichen species belonging to 6 genera of 5 families were recorded. Of these, Cladoniaceae with 32 species is the dominant family. The species similarity index between the mixed coniferous and broadleaved forest and the coniferous forest was the highest of all pairs (0.739), whereas that between the mixed coniferous and broadleaved forest and the alpine meadow belt was the lowest (0.200). Mountain forests, having the maximum species diversity, were the distribution center for lichen diversity and key areas for their conservation in Two-river Source Nature Reserve in Altay Mountains, Xinjiang. We also discuss conservation strategies for lichens.