All specimens of three foliose lichens (Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm., n = 725; Lobaria scrobiculata (Scop.) DC., n = 6613; Pseudocyphellaria crocata (L.) Vain., n = 1237) and two pendulous lichens (Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach., n = 441; Ramalina thrausta (Ach.) Nyl., n = 990) were collected from 160 random Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. branches (2–15 m above the ground) in three spruce-dominated boreal rainforests in Norway. Maximum diameter (foliose lichens), length (pendulous lichens), and reproductive structures were quantified in each thallus. The effects of measured tree and branch variables on abundance and reproduction were tested by generalized linear mixed models with binomial errors (binomial GLMM) and zero-altered (over-dispersed) Poisson generalized linear mixed models (ZAPGLMM). Lobaria pulmonaria, P. crocata, and R. thrausta occurred predominantly in the lower canopy, whereas the remaining species were also common at higher levels. The portions of thalli producing soredia and (or) isidia were 60%, 22%, and 14% for P. crocata, L. scrobiculata, and L. pulmonaria, respectively. Isidiate and (or) sorediate L. pulmonaria thalli occurred mainly on low, dead branches, whereas sorediate L. scrobiculata and P. crocata occurred at all heights. The occurrence of small P. crocata, <5 mm, decreased by branch height and small L. scrobiculata, <5 mm, increased with branch length and decreased with tree age. Upper branches supported a significant part of the total populations of studied lichens and are, thus, important when evaluating epiphyte conservation status.
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