Lichen Flora Research Articles

Estimating lichen diversity of Arunachal Pradesh, India along with new records for the country

Occurrence 686 species of lichen belonging to 185 genera and 52 families was earlier reported from the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. In this study ninety four lichen species new to the state are added. This includes eight lichen species (Bunodophoron australe (Laurer) A, Massal, Cladonia stellaris (Opiz) Pouzar & Vězda, Graphis fujianensis Z.F. Jia & J.C. Wei, Graphis norstictica A.W. Archer & Lücking, Pertusaria subcopelandii Jariangpr, Pyrenula cruenta (Mont.) Vain., Ramboldia brunneocarpa Kantvilas & Elix and Usnea glabrata (Ach.) Vain.) which are new records for the country. The 780 lichen species belonging to 18 lichen bio-indicator communities. Graphidioid lichens are the dominant (18%) followed by Parmelioid (13%) and Pyrenulioid (09%) in Arunachal Pradesh. The present study can serve as a baseline for long term monitoring studies using lichen flora of the state as indicator.

Diversity and species distribution of lichens in Gwangneung Forest

Gwangneung Forest is a forest area that has been in existence for more than 550 years with a long history of natural and artificial forests in harmony. Lichens are not only a single organism but also a group of basic organisms formed from a stable symbiotic association between a fungus and algae and/or cyanobacteria. They are closely associated with forests and have formed an axis through Gwangneung Forest. From 2016 to 2021, a survey was conducted to investigate the lichen flora distribution by species, focusing on the viewing area within the Korea National Arboretum and the undisclosed research area centered in the Suribong Peak area. As a result of collecting and identifying 246 specimens, 68 species of lichens were identified in 11 orders, 22 families, and 39 genera. The tree with the largest number of lichens was Koelreuteria paniculata , followed by Sophora japonica , Ginkgo biloba , and Malus sieboldii . In trees belonging to Aceraceae , crustose lichens rather than foliose lichens were mainly found. Through this survey, three unreported species were discovered: Lepraria cupressicola , Leprocaulon nicholsiae , and Graphis pinicola . Lepraria cupressicola and Leprocaulon nicholsiae were distributed throughout the arboretum viewing area and Graphis pinicola was identified only in one viewing area.

Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 14

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genus Chara, for the bryophyte genera Bryum, Grimmia, Cephaloziella, Hypnum, Nogopterium, Physcomitrium, Polytrichastrum, Rhynchostegiella, Saelania, and Schistostega, the fungal genera Cortinarius, Lentinellus, Omphalina, and Xerophorus, and the lichen genera Acarospora, Agonimia, Candelariella, Cladonia, Graphis, Gyalolechia, Hypogymnia, Lichinella, Megalaria, Nephroma, Ochrolechia, Opegrapha, Peltigera, Placidium, Ramalina, Rhizoplaca, Ropalospora, Strangospora, Toniniopsis, Usnea, and Zahlbrucknerella.

Refining the picture of lichen biota of Himachal Pradesh together with new distributional records to the state

Himachal Pradesh (HP) is one of the biodiversity rich states of Western Himalaya, however meagre information is available regarding lichen biota of this state. In the present study an attempt has been made to provide an updated list of lichens from HP. The list is based on recent collections and some previous available literature made by the authors during the last one decade. A total of 714 species of lichens belonging to 189 genera and 49 families are reported, of which 15 species are new addition to the lichen flora of HP. The Lecanorioid and Parmelioid communities exhibit their dominance in the state and majority of the species are found growing over bark and rocks. The available information on the lichen biota of the state will present the current picture of lichens diversity in the state of Himachal Pradesh and will also serve as a baseline for carrying out future long term monitoring studies.

Hidden Species Diversity was Explored in Two Genera of Catapyrenioid Lichens (Verrucariaceae, Ascomycota) from the Deserts of China.

Verrucariaceae is the third-largest lichen family with high species diversity. However, this diversity has not been well-explored in China. We carried out a wide-scale field investigation in the arid and semi-arid regions of Northwest China from 2017 to 2021. A large number of lichen groups, especially those commonly distributed in deserts, were collected. Based on molecular phylogeny using ITS and nuLSU sequences by Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses, combining morphological characters, seven taxa of catapyrenioid lichens in Verricariaceae were found in this study, including one genus (Clavascidium) and one species (Clavascidium lacinulatum) new to China; one genus (Placidium) new to the mainland of China; and four species (Clavascidium sinense, Placidium nitidulum, Placidium nigrum, and Placidium varium) new to science. It enriched our understanding of the high species diversity in Verrucariaceae and the lichen flora of Chinese arid and semi-arid deserts.

First Taxonomic study of the Lichens in the Tlemcen National Park (Case of Hafir Forest)

The objective of this work is the inventory of lichens in the Hafir forest, it is part of a more general project aimed at studying the lichen flora of the Tlemcen region. The Hafir forest is one of the last Algerian mountainous cork oak forests belonging to the Bético Rifain complex. Our study area enjoys a Mediterranean climate, subhumid with cool winters. Based mainly on random sampling, giving particular importance to the different types of substrate, we were able to sample 73 species of lichens belonging to 16 families and 38 genera. Among these, the Parmeliaceae family is the most dominant with 19 species followed by the Lecanoraceae family which is represented by 14 species and the Physciaceae by 13 species. The physiognomic spectrum shows the presence of 06 lichen categories: foliaceous lichens, crustaceans, fruticose, gelatinous, scaly and leprous. While the classification by type of substrate shows the dominance of corticolous lichens with 48 species followed by saxicolous with 13 species, terricolous with 06 in number and lignicoles and muscicoles with 03 species each. We were able to identify 18 species protected by Algerian law among inventoried lichens. The Hafir forest is home to a very interesting lichen diversity that deserves to be protected, which requires immediate intervention to reduce the anthropogenic pressure exerted and which can pollute this natural environment.
 Keywords:Lichen - Biodiversity-Sampling- Inventory- Tlemcen

Охраняемые виды сосудистых растений и лишайников побережий и островов Японского моря (Приморский край)

A total of 61 species of protected vascular plants (8.7 % of the coastal marine flora and 30 % of protected flora of Primorsky Krai), belonging to 35 families and 49 genera, and 25 species of protected lichens (6.3 % of the marine coastal lichen flora), belonging to 8 families and 17 genera, occur on the sea coast and islands in Primorsky Krai. The largest numbers of species refer to such families as Orchidaceae (7), Cyperaceae (6), Iridaceae (4), Parmeliaceae (15), and Lobariaceae (3). The most of them are classified as low risk (LR) and vulnerable (VU); most frequently they occur in forests and on coastal rocks. The most common species are Kalopanax septemlobus, Taxus cuspidata, Pyxine sorediata, Parmotrema reticulatum, and Menegazzia terebrata. Fires, recreation, pollution and economic activities are the major causes of plant community transformations. Currently, areas containing protected species should be under close attention to protect endangered species. Protection of vascular plants and lichens should be carried out considering their populations, biological and ecological features of the species as well as their degrees of sensitivity to both natural and anthropogenic impacts.

Regionally unique lichens of the ukrainian carpathians and perspectives of their protection

The Carpathian Mts, showing the highest lichen biodiversity in Ukraine, i.e. 1,395 species of 2,106 of the total Ukrainian lichens, have been found to contain the highest proportion of regionally unique taxa (i.e. so far recorded only from the Carpathian Mts) (i.e. 551 species, or 39.5% of the Carpathian and 26.2% of the total Ukrainian lichen flora). Species diversity of widely distributed lichens (i.e. which hitherto known from all five macroregions of Ukraine), as well as ‘scarcely distributed’ lichens (i.e. missing at least in one or more macroregions) are also discussed. Representation of these three groups of lichens in the geomorphological districts of the Carpathian Mts and the administrative oblasts Zakarpattia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi is shown.The Chornohora Mts, a district of the Carpathian Mts, found to show the highest proportion of species so far recorded from this district of the Carpathian Mts, while the Eastern Beskydy and the Gorgany Mts are characterised hitherto by the highest species diversity of lichens. That is established that among geomorphological districts of Zakarpattia oblast, the Eastern Beskydy and the Gorgany Mts parts of Zakarpattia oblast territory are characterised by the highest number of species of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi in the Carpathian macroregion (674 and 611 species, respectively), and the proportion of regionally unique taxa in these two florae is also the highest (483 species or 71.6% and 453 species or 74.1%, respectively). Lichens of the Chyvchyn Mts of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast are found to be the most diverse in this oblast (344 species totally), and they include the highest proportion of regionally unique taxa (171 species or 49.7%). The Eastern Beskydy Mts, part of Lviv oblast territory, the only part of this oblast in the Carpathian Mts, are found to be represented by 224 lichen species of which 32 (i.e. 14.3%) are regionally unique to the Carpathian Mts.List of the rarest taxa of the regionally unique group (hitherto known from single or a few localities) proposed as candidates for including to regional red lists of Zakarpattia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi oblasts since the whole nature protection activity in Ukraine is done according to oblast division. 254 lichen species are proposed for including in the red list of Zakarpattia oblast, while 44, 4 and 9 species in the red lists of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Chernivtsi oblasts, respectively. The smallest amount of these taxa is proposed for the red list of Lviv oblast, which includes also the Forest zone of the Ukrainian Plains.

Contributions to the Lichen flora of Turkey: New records from Eastern Anatolia (Van province)

Abstract Our field research in Van province during 2008–2009 resulted in collection of 3766 lichen samples from 55 sites, and identification of 229 lichen taxa, including two subspecies and three varieties, in 108 genera of Ascomycota. We found 182 new records for Van province. These include four new records for Turkey, namely Bibbya ruginosa, Buellia subalbula, Caloplaca tenuatula and Rimularia gibbosa. Lists of species and collection sites are provided. Acarospora (11 species), Lecidea (9 species), Verrucaria (8 species), Caloplaca, Physcia and Rinodina (7 species for each), and Aspicilia, Lecanora and Polyozosia (6 species for each) are the genera richest in species in the study area. Of the identified species, 163 are crustose, 43 are foliose, 7 are fruticose, 13 are squamulose and 3 are leprose. 101 species colonise on calcareous rocks, 86 on siliceous rocks, 23 on various trees (epiphytic), 10 on soil, 12 on moss and 17 on other lichens (lichenicolous). Sites 16, 19 are the richest with 55 identified taxa, followed by sites 52, 34, and 6 with 51, 49 and 44 taxa, respectively. The poorest sites are 40 and 42 with 6 identified taxa, followed by sites 5, 7, and 21 with 8, 8, and 9 taxa, respectively.

Unravelling the diversity of the lichen genus Porina (Porinaceae) in Mauritius

Background and aims – Despite the publication of a recent checklist for Mauritius, a small archipelago in the south-western Indian Ocean, our knowledge of the lichen flora of this region remains incomplete. The present contribution is part of an ongoing study of lichen diversity of the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues. It aims to unravel the diversity of the genus Porina s.l. on these islands and to improve the taxonomy and the phylogeny of the family Porinaceae following the morphological study and the sequencing of recently collected material.Material and methods – Lichens were collected in 2016 and 2019 in a range of environments, from lowland dry habitats up to dense evergreen upland forests on the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues. In total, 85 samples of Porina were examined using light microscopy. A molecular study using mtSSU sequences was performed in order to investigate the phylogenetic position of the species of Porina occurring in the study area.Key results – The analyses revealed the presence of 23 species of Porina s.l. in Mauritius, while only four were previously accepted for this country. Five new species are described: Porina covidii, P. griffithsii, P. mauritiana, P. nuculoides, and P. rupicola, while two sterile species remain unidentified. The mtSSU phylogenetic tree includes 19 of the 23 species occurring in Mauritius. These species are dispersed throughout the phylogenetic tree, in at least eight main and strongly supported lineages, suggesting multiple colonizations of Mauritius. A new lineage only including Paleotropical and mainly foliicolous species (P. epiphylloides, P. longispora, P. mauritiana, and P. mazosioides) is revealed. Pseudosagedia crocynioides, a species that was previously known only from Florida, is newly reported from Mauritius, highlighting a remarkable disjunct distribution. Photos of each taxon are provided, along with an identification key to all species.Conclusion – The study of the genus Porina in Mauritius highlights a rich flora. The true diversity of Porina species in the south-western Indian Ocean is certainly underestimated and in need of further investigation, while a taxonomic-phylogenetic revision of tropical Porina at a broader geographical scale is highly desirable. The identity of several Mauritian specimens remains uncertain despite the use of molecular data.

Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 13

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte generaBryum,Cryphaea,Didymodon, andGrimmia; the fungal generaBryostigma,Cercidospora,Conocybe,Cortinarius,Endococcus,Inocybe,Psathyrella, andSphaerellothecium; the lichen generaAgonimia,Anisomeridium,Bilimbia,Diplotomma,Gyalecta,Huneckia,Lecidella,Lempholemma,Myriolecis,Nephroma,Pannaria,Pycnothelia,Pyrrhospora,Rinodina,Stereocaulon,Thalloidima,Trapelia,Usnea,Variospora, andVerrucaria.

Macrolichens of Mathikettan Shola National Park, Western Ghats: a preliminary investigation with some new records

An extensive survey of lichens was conducted in different parts of Mathikettan Shola National Park, and analysed 55 macrolichen species under six families. Two species were found to be new to the Indian peninsula, and five species were new to the lichen flora of Kerala.

High and balanced contribution of regional biodiversity hotspots to epiphytic and epixylic lichen species diversity in Great Britain

We surveyed epiphytic and epixylic lichens in eleven 1-hectare forest plots located in representative old-forest stands in four distinct regions of Great Britain that are well-known centres of lichen biodiversity. We aimed to analyse the patterns of lichen biodiversity in these important biodiversity hotspots from a British perspective. In total, we recorded 550 lichen species in 11 ha, i.e. 73% of the presently known British epiphytic and epixylic lichen flora. Species richness per site was regionally stratified and varied from 126 to 235 species. Although the presence of frequent species coincided with total species richness in the respective hotspot, rare species (those with <50 records in Great Britain since 2000) were more balanced among hotspots and relatively independent of species richness. Species turnover contributed significantly and evenly to the species composition regardless of species richness so that hotspots did not have nested structure, typical for the hotspots in Central Europe. Although British hotspots generally shared more species within regions than between regions, geographic distances between regions did not correspond with the differences in species composition. The results document the importance and irreplaceability of the surveyed hotspots for lichen diversity in Great Britain, notwithstanding their current species richness and past depletion due to long-term acid deposition and habitat degradation.

The core of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve (Russia) is a hotspot of lichen biodiversity in the southern taiga of Eastern Europe

In this study, we aim to evaluate the diversity of lichens and allied non-lichenised fungi, co-existing in dark-coniferous and broad-leaved forests of the southern taiga in the East European Plain. The Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve (589 km2) was established in 2006 to preserve the last fragments of the unique primeval forests of the southern taiga. The territory of the Kologriv cluster of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve (481 km2) is located in the north of the Kostroma Region (Russia). The main phorophytes in this cluster are Picea abies, Tilia cordata, Betula pubescens, and Abies sibirica. In our time-limited study (four days in May 2021), we selected a 10 000-m2 (hereinafter – 1-ha) plot (a presumed lichen diversity hotspot) in the primeval forest stand in the core of the Kologriv cluster of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve (58.80164° N, 43.98533° E, at altitude ca. 200 m a.s.l.). For a detailed study of the species composition of lichens on this plot, all types of substrates were examined, including trunks and branch surface of various tree species under various conditions, dead and rotting wood of snags, stumps, and fallen logs. In addition, 22 points in various parts of the protected core were examined by the route method in May 2019 and May 2021. This detailed survey in the primeval forest in the core of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve has revealed an unexpectedly high lichen diversity: 230 species recorded in a single 1-ha plot is equal to or much more than the number of species recorded in several Protected Areas of far larger sizes in European Russia. The number of species found on this plot is 73% of the one recorded in the whole protected core (316 species) and 58% of the lichen diversity known in the entire area of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve (398 species). The genus Asterophoma is new for European Russia. The genera Bachmanniomyces and Bryostigma are new for the lichen flora of the middle belt of European Russia. There are 91 species listed for the first time for the lichen flora of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve. Of them, 83 species are new to the Kostroma Region. Two species (Micarea synotheoides and Stigmidium exasperatum) are new to Russia. Rinodina macrospora was found for the first time in Europe. Three species, Asterophoma mazaediicola, Biatora veteranorum, and Biatoropsis minuta, are new to European Russia. 13 species were found for the first time in the middle belt of European Russia: Bachmanniomyces punctum, Bryostigma lapidicola, Heterocephalacria bachmannii, Lepra borealis, Micarea byssacea, M. melaeniza, M. nowakii, M. pseudomicrococca, M. pycnidiophora, Ochrolechia mahluensis, Scoliciosporum perpusillum, Skyttea gregaria, Stigmidium congestum, Trapeliopsis gelatinosa, Xylographa soralifera. Four threatened species (Leptogium burnetiae, Lobaria pulmonaria, Menegazzia terebrata and Nephromopsis laureri) are listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation. We have made a comparison of the lichen flora diversity found in the core of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve with previously obtained data in Western and Central Europe. The core of the Kologriv Forest State Nature Reserve meets the criteria of a hotspot of lichen biodiversity on the European level. We would like to emphasise the importance of finding such hotspots of lichen diversity by an inventory of the lichen flora in other Protected Areas.

К лихенофлоре Северо-Осетинского заповедника (Северная Осетия — Алания). II. Кластер «Карца»

New data on the lichen flora of the North Ossetia Nature Reserve from the cluster “Kartsa” are provided. This cluster is located in Kartsinskii Range slopes, Central Caucasus. The specimens of lichens and lichenicolous fungi were collected near the top of Ol’dukhankhokh Mt. in cluster “Kartsa” in June 2016. In total, 115 lichen species and 15 lichenicolous fungi were recorded. Among them, 128 species are new to the cluster “Kartsa”. Of these, 77 species are new for the North Ossetia Nature Reserve, including 71 species new for the Republic of North Ossetia — Alania, 36 species new for the Central Caucasus, and 5 species new for the Caucasus. The genus Poeltinula and three species (Arthonia punctella, Opegrapha hellespontica, Poeltinula cerebrina) are reported for the first time from Russia. The representative specimens of new for Russia and rare species are kept in the Lichenological Herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (LE).

First records of lichenised and lichenicolous fungi for the lichen flora of Russia and Eastern Europe

Noteworthy findings of two lichen species and four lichenicolous fungi are presented. Two species, Celothelium ischnobelum collected from the Nizhnii Novgorod Region and Opegrapha reactiva from the Murmansk Region, are reported for the first time for Russia and Eastern Europe. Four species, Arthonia destruens, Lichenochora galligena, and Schizoxylon albescens collected in the Nizhnii Novgorod Region, and Sphaeropezia cucularis in the Murmansk Region, are new for European Russia. The genus Celothelium is reported for the first time for Russia.

Дополнение к лихенофлоре государственного природного заповедника «Витимский»

Previously, 425 species were known in the lichen flora of the Vitimsky State Nature Reserve (southern Siberia, north of the Irkutsk region). This list was later supplemented with 11 more species. In 2018-2021, a collection of specimens was collected in three new areas of the reserve, in which 36 lichen species, not previously known for the reserve, were identified, among which two (Chaenothecopsis nigropedata and Lichenomphalia velutina) are new for South Siberia. The report provides a list of these species, specifying for each one the substrate on which the lichen is marked, as well as the location in which the specimen was collected.

Diversity and peculiarities of lichens in subnival habitats of Shalbuzdag Mountain (East Caucasus, Dagestan, Russia)

Ismailov, A. 2021. Diversity and peculiarities of lichens in subnival habitats of Shalbuzdag Mountain (East Caucasus, Dagestan, Russia). – Herzogia 34: 387–399. One hundred and four species of lichenized fungi and three species of lichenicolous fungi have been revealed in habitats above 3000 m a.s.l of Shalbuzdag Mountain. Some species are reported from these altitudes for the first time. Gyalolechia klementii is new for Russia and the Greater Caucasus. Heteroplacidium fusculum and Calvitimela aglaea are reported for the Greater Caucasus for the first time. Tetramelas papillatus, Toninia taurica and Rhizocarpon atroflavescens are new records for the East Caucasus. All of these species and Placidium rufescens are new for Dagestan. Habitats at an altitudinal range of 3000 –3200 m are characterized by the highest species richness. Lichens of the family Teloschistaceae are the core of the lichen flora with the highest number of recorded species (26) and genera (11). The lichen communities at mount Shalbuzdag are dominated by species preferring arid habitats, but there are also arctic-alpine species. For the first time, detailed data are provided on the lichen diversity in arid calcareous habitats above 3000 m in the Caucasus and Russia.

Лихенофлора болотных комплексов острова Сахалин (Сахалинская область, Российский Дальний Восток)

This paper presents the results of the study of lichen flora in swamp complexes of Sakhalin Island, obtained during expeditionary research in 2005–2009 and 2014–2020. The revealed species composition of lichens includes 172 species. The 28 of them are new for Sakhalin and 93 are new for the island swamp complexes. Bryocaulon pseudosatoanum is included in the regional and federal Red lists. Lecidea nylanderi is new to the south of the Far East. The information about substrates, habitats and locations is given for all species. The data on the distribution in the south of the Far East and, in some cases for all Far East, are listed for selected species that are new for Sakhalin Island and the south of the Far East. For the first time, a characteristic of the distribution of lichens in oligotrophic, eutrophic and mesotrophic bogs of Sakhalin Island is given.

Addition to the lichen flora of Iturup Island (Sakhalin Region, Russian Far East)

As a result of expeditionary investigations on Iturup Island (southern group of islands of the Kuril archipelago), 61 species of lichens were identified as new to the island, including Porpidia contraponenda and Xylographa rubescens – new to the Russian Far East, and Amandinea coniops and Arthonia dispuncta – new to the South of the Russian Far East. Six species are new to the Sakhalin Region. The difference in species composition of the Sea of Okhotsk coast and the Pacific coast of Iturup Island is briefly discussed.