Abstract
Epiphytic richness is continuously declining due to forest fragmentation, logging, burning, agriculture, and livestock. The rate of species loss caused by habitat degradation and loss is more pronounced in Central and South America. Considering the extreme difficulty and time required to identify the more inconspicuous species, rapid diversity assessment methods need to be extrapolated throughout the world. This study correlated lichen growth forms and total epiphytic abundance across 119 forests located in Europe and Central-South America. A total of 54 papers were selected from specific databases focused on lichens. Additionally, data from several unpublished ecological studies were included. Linear regression models showed that epiphytic lichen abundance was highly and positively correlated with the number of growth forms at all geographical levels considered (i.e., Central-South American and European forests, and the combination of both). Thus, the use of growth forms may provide an alternative and complementary way to evaluate epiphytic diversity because most growth forms have cosmopolitan distribution and are easily recognizable.
Highlights
Well-preserved forests harbor a high diversity of epiphytic lichens, including a high number of species extremely affected by forest logging and deforestation [1,2]
In relation to growth forms, crustose inconspicuous species with apothecia, foliose narrow-lobed, and Linear regression models showed that the epiphytic lichen abundance was highly and foliose broad-lobed were the most common lichen groups
When different values obtained when all forests were considered together were similar to those obtained after dividing forest types were considered in Europe, the highest correlation value was found in beech forests between European and Central-South American forests (Figure 1)
Summary
Well-preserved forests harbor a high diversity of epiphytic lichens, including a high number of species extremely affected by forest logging and deforestation [1,2]. Forest cover loss is slowing down, deforestation and forest degradation continue throughout some regions of the world, being especially critical in tropical regions. Forests are disappearing at alarming rates due to anthropogenic threats [3,4]. This scenario of rapid deforestation has caused the decline of numerous species [2] and the transformation of original landscapes into grasslands, croplands, and plantations with fast-growing species and secondary vegetation to satisfy human needs [5,6]. The high cost of identification, in terms of financial resources and time, could explain the absence of lichenological studies in many areas of the world
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