Abstract
The small-sized gametophytes and sporophytes of the green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. make it difficult to study. However, in Europe, there has been increasing interest in this species in the past few years, mostly as a result of the implementation of the Natura 2000 network. In Poland, B. viridis has only been reported in isolated studies that have been limited in terms of area and the number of participating workers. One of the Polish regions where B. viridis was recently recorded is the Bieszczady Mountains, but there have been no large-scale surveys of that region to date. The objective of the current work was to describe the B. viridis population in the Bieszczady Mountains in terms of its spatial distribution and abundance, investigate its selected microhabitat preferences, and evaluate the conservation status of this moss species within the Natura 2000 site Bieszczady PLC180001. The studied region encompassed 93,490.44 ha, including 69,056.23 ha of managed forests and 24,434.21 ha of forests belonging to the Bieszczady National Park. A preliminary survey was conducted in the Cisna Forest District (forest area of 19,555.82 ha) on 15–17 November 2017, while the main survey was performed in selected forest subcompartments of four forest districts—Baligród, Komańcza, Lutowiska, and Stuposiany—as well as the Bieszczady National Park from 5 to 16 November 2018. The field work consisted of searching for B. viridis sporophytes and setae and recording selected population and locality characteristics. The study led to the discovery of 353 new B. viridis localities in 202 study areas, with 9197 diploid individuals (sporophytes or setae only) growing in 545 microhabitats. The number of B. viridis localities discovered in the Bieszczady Mountains during 17 days of survey in 2017 and 2018 was two times higher than the combined number of localities previously found in Poland over more than 150 years (159 localities). Additionally, the number of sporophytes and setae identified was two times greater than their overall number in previous records. In addition, this study provides information about selected microhabitat preferences and the conservation status of this moss in the Bieszczady Natura 2000 site.
Highlights
The green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. is an epixylic dioecious moss
If it turns out that the species is as abundant in other Polish and European regions as in the Bieszczady Mountains, B. viridis should be deleted from the list of protected species in Poland [42], the European “Red list of mosses” [43], Annex I to the Bern [44], and Annex II to the Habitats [45], as the species was entered into those documents based on its rarity and the fact that half of its localities had been identified a very long time ago [2]
Rational forest management does not adversely affect the occurrence of B. viridis, as in this study, it was found to be more abundant in managed study areas than in the National Park
Summary
The green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. is an epixylic (and sometimes terricolous) dioecious moss. The green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. Its 1-2 cm-tall orthotropic sporophytes are not noticeable but can be found by trained workers. It is easier to spot young sporophytes in the autumn, when their capsules are yellowish-green and are clearly distinguishable from the substrate on which they grow. It is practically impossible to find sporophytes, and they may be damaged by snow cover. They are less likely to be discovered in the spring. When the capsules mature in the springtime and turn dark green, yellow, and, ochre-yellow, they become much more difficult to observe. Searching for B. viridis sporophytes is extremely time-consuming, as workers must meticulously explore potential microhabitats
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