No abstract

Data on 54 new for China, India, Korea and Russia species of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi, including 22 new for science taxa of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi, i.e.:

Parmotrema A. Massal. is a common lichen genus scattered throughout the Korean Peninsula; however, no detailed taxonomic or revisionary study of this genus has been conducted for nearly two decades. Therefore, this study revised the taxonomy of this genus based on specimens deposited in the lichen herbarium at the Korean Lichen Research Institute and samples wereidentified using recent literature. In this revisionary study, a total of eighteen species of Parmotrema including eight new records [Parmotrema cetratum (Ach.) Hale, Parmotrema cristiferum (Taylor) Hale, Parmotrema grayanum (Hue) Hale, Parmotrema defectum (Hale) Hale, Parmotrema dilatatum (Vain.) Hale, Parmotrema margaritatum (Hue) Hale, Parmotrema pseudocrinitum (Abbayes) Hale, and Parmotrema subsumptum (Nyl.) Hale] are documented. Detailed descriptions of each species with their morphological, anatomical and chemical characteristics are also given and a key to the known Parmotrema species of the Korean Peninsula is presented.

There is little available information on lichen diversity and air quality in forests in South Korea. To address this, the present study aims to correlate corticolous lichen diversity with air quality in selected forests in South Korea. Two sites located on Jeju Island and one site located at Mt. Hambaek, Kangwon Province were selected for this study. Twenty trees representing two species (Quercus sp. and Pinus japonica) were chosen at each site. The coverage and frequency of corticolous lichens found on the selected trees were recorded by using 2500 cm 2 grids. Ambient SO 2 , NO 2 , and O 3 levels at each site were determined using Ogawa TM passive samplers having filter pads coated with absorbing reagents. Lichen diversity data collected on selected trees were used to formulate the index of atmospheric purity (IAP). A total of 65 lichen species were found. A negative correlation was observed between lichen diversity expressed as IAP and the concentrations of SO 2 , NO 2 , and O 3 levels. The results revealed that corticolous lichens could be used as indicators to monitor the air quality of forests in South Korea on a large scale.