Abstract
Reduction of biological diversity of lichens, reduction of the distribution of rare species and their disappearance due to habitat disturbance are significant problems in the Caucasus. The aim was to study the main patterns of distribution of the rare lichen species Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. and included identification the main abiotic factors affecting the distribution of the species in region. We modeled the current habitats of Lobaria pulmonaria in the Caucasus by using the Maxent method (Maximum entropy modelling). The most suitable for distribution of the lichen were the wettest areas of the southern macroslope of the Greater Caucasus. The center of the predicted range of L. pulmonaria was currently located on the Black Sea coast, in the mid-mountain areas of Krasnodar region, Georgia and Abkhazia. The minimum probability of finding the species predicted in relatively arid areas with a more continental climate in the Central and, especially, Eastern Caucasus. Temperature and orographic (Topographical Ruggedness Index, topographical humidity Index) factors are also important in the distribution of the studied species.
Highlights
The lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. is a species with a wide range, but currently protected in Russia [1], as well as in a number of European countries and Canada [2,3,4]
The purpose of this study was to model the spatial distribution of L. pulmonaria and to identify the main abiotic factors affecting the distribution of the species in the Central Caucasus
The analysis of the main ecological predictors, which determined the potential distribution of L. pulmonaria in the Caucasus, confirmed the dependence of the studied species on the parameters of water and temperature regimes
Summary
The lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. is a species with a wide range, but currently protected in Russia [1], as well as in a number of European countries and Canada [2,3,4]. Is a species with a wide range, but currently protected in Russia [1], as well as in a number of European countries and Canada [2,3,4]. In the Caucasus, L. pulmonaria occurs mainly on trunks of the trees in forest regions, but the cenotic confinement of L. pulmonaria poorly studied. It known that the lichen grows in different types of forest communities: spruce forests, old growth aspen forests, coniferous and smallleaved forests, as well as in forests with broad-leaved species [5]. The study of lichen cenotic confinement is important for monitoring the status of this rare species, searching for new habitats, and developing strategies for its protection. It's important to study the spatial distribution of L. pulmonaria and to predict its possible locations the Caucasus
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