Could Hair-Lichens of High-Elevation Forests Help Detect the Impact of Global Change in the Alps?

Nascimbene, Juri; Benesperi, Renato; Giordani, Paolo; Grube, Martín; Marini, Lorenzo; Vallese, Chiara; Mayrhofer, Helmut

doi:10.3390/d11030045

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…The results have implications for the lichens' responses to global change, to which they are susceptible (Colesie et al, 2018;Ellis et al, 2007;Nascimbene et al, 2019). Esseen et al (2016) proposed hypotheses predicting major shifts in the distribution of these lichens with changing climate, N deposition and forest structure.…”

Section: Environmental Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…They constitute an important diet of reindeer, caribou and other mammals (Hauck, 2011) and provide shelter for invertebrates, including high-quality prey for passerine birds (Pettersson et al, 1995). These lichens die or suffer from air pollutants (Bruteig, 1993;Johansson et al, 2010) and from other global change factors (Esseen et al, 2016;Nascimbene et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They constitute an important diet of reindeer, caribou and other mammals (Hauck, 2011) and provide shelter for invertebrates, including high‐quality prey for passerine birds (Pettersson et al., 1995). These lichens die or suffer from air pollutants (Bruteig, 1993; Johansson et al., 2010) and from other global change factors (Esseen et al., 2016; Nascimbene et al., 2019). Their abundance peaks in old forests (Bartels & Chen, 2015; Esseen et al., 1996; Price & Hochachka, 2001) and declines with short logging cycles (Boudreault et al., 2015; Dettki & Esseen, 1998, 2003; Lesica et al., 1991) threatening some of them (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Macroclimate drives growth of hair lichens in boreal forest canopies

et al. 2020

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Epiphytic lichens are important biodiversity components of forest canopies world‐wide, significantly contributing to ecosystem function. The RGR, a measure of fitness, drives population dynamics and shapes lichens’ large‐scale distributions. In a climate change scenario, we need to know how external (macro‐ and microclimate, and nitrogen deposition) and internal factors (cortical pigments, chlorophyll and specimen size) affect RGR in these ecologically important canopy organisms. We used dominant pendulous hair lichens widely distributed across the boreal biome to test the hypothesis that precipitation drives RGR of pale (Alectoria sarmentosa, Usnea dasopoga) and dark species Bryoria fuscescens differently across a large‐scale gradient from continental to oceanic climates (precipitation: 450–2,600 mm) in Scandinavia (60–64°N, 5–19°E). After transplanting lichens to lower branches of Picea abies in nine boreal forest sites for 1 year, we used linear mixed effects models to analyse how total precipitation, rainfall, number of days with rain, temperature sum, nitrogen deposition, light, chlorophyll a (an indicator of photosynthetic capacity) and size influenced their RGR. RGR was highest in the pale species (Alectoria and Usnea) and increased with amount and frequency of precipitation, with >3 times higher RGR in the wettest compared to the driest site. The number of days with rain was a better predictor of RGR than total precipitation or rain. By contrast, RGR of the dark Bryoria weakly increased with precipitation. RGR in all species increased with light and decreased with size. Chlorophyll a concentration, boosted by moderate nitrogen deposition, increased RGR of all species. In conclusion, rainfall likely drives the distribution of the pale species due to their higher RGR and abundance in wet climates but cannot explain why Bryoria dominates drier inland forests. Our results highlight that the functional links between rainfall and RGR depends on both colour of the lichens (pale vs. dark pigments) and water storage traits. Synthesis. Our findings may explain the global, regional and local distribution patterns of hair lichens and help us to predict how environmental hazards such as climate change and forestry influence these important boreal canopy components.

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Section: Environmental Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Macroclimate drives growth of hair lichens in boreal forest canopies

et al. 2020

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“…Epiphytic lichens are a diverse and functionally important component of the forest biota (Nascimbene et al, 2019;van Stan and Pypker, 2015;Zedda and Rambold, 2015). They are poikilohidric organisms whose ecophysiological performance strongly depends on external environmental conditions (Insarov et al, 2002;Gauslaa, 2014;Gauslaa et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Range shifts of native and invasive trees exacerbate the impact of climate change on epiphyte distribution: The case of lung lichen and black locust in Italy

Nascimbene

Benesperi

Casazza

et al. 2020

Science of The Total Environment

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While changing climatic conditions may directly impact species distribution ranges, indirect effects related to altered biotic interactions may exacerbate range shifts. This situation fully applies to epiphytic lichens that are sensitive to climatic factors and strongly depend on substrate occurrence and features for their dispersal and establishment. In this work, we modelled the climatic suitability across Italy under current and future climate of the forest species Lobaria pulmonaria, the lung lichen. Comparatively, we modelled the suitability of its main tree species in Italy, as well as that of the alien tree Robinia pseudoacacia, black locust, whose spread may cause the decline of many forest lichen species. Our results support the view that climate change may cause range shifts of epiphytes by altering the spatial pattern of their climatic suitability (direct effect) and simultaneously causing range shifts of their host-tree species (indirect effect). This phenomenon seems to be emphasized by the invasion of alien trees, as in the case of black locust, that may replace native host tree species. Results indicate that a reduction of the habitat suitability of the lung lichen across Italy should be expected in the face of climate change and that this is coupled with a loss of suitable substrate. This situation seems to be determined by two main processes that act simultaneously: 1) a partial reduction of the spatial overlap between the climatic niche of the lung lichen and that of its host tree species, and 2) the invasion of native woods by black locust. The case of lung lichen and black locust in Italy highlights that epiphytes are prone to both direct and indirect effects of climate change. The invasion of alien trees may have consequences that are still poorly evaluated for epiphytes.

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“…Spatial segregation in crustose and fruticose lichens it is probably related to tree-level heterogeneous microclimatic conditions (Benesperi et al, 2018). For example, crustose-calicioid species are found at the driest, underhanging, parts of the trunks that do not receive rain or stemflow (Nimis & Martellos, 2017), while fruticose-filamentous species prefer well lit conditions exposed to both rain and wind where they can maximize their metabolic activity (Coxson & Coyle, 2003;Gauslaa et al, 2008;Nascimbene et al, 2019). Despite its importance in determining lichen response to both micro and macro-climatic conditions (Aptroot & van Herk, 2007), photobiont type is not important in determining networks structure in our study system.…”

Section: Functional Traits Effect On Lichen Species Role In the Netmentioning

confidence: 99%

Networks of epiphytic lichens and host trees along elevation gradients: Climate change implications in mountain ranges

et al. 2020

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1. Several studies have evaluated lichen responses in terms of shifts in species climate suitability, species richness and community composition. In contrast, patterns of co-occurrence among species that could be related to complex species interactions have received less consideration. Biotic interactions play a major role in shaping species niches, fitness and adaptation to new environments. Therefore, considering the specific relationships among co-occurring species is essential to further deepen our knowledge of biodiversity response to climate change. In this perspective, the analysis of lichen ecological networks across elevational gradients may provide a powerful tool to understand how communities are structured and how biotic interactions are modulated by changing climatic conditions. 2. We evaluated the contribution of environmental and species biological attributes to the structure of epiphytic lichen-host tree networks. Specifically, we studied lichen communities considering two different network levels: the whole lichen community, and groups of lichen species that presented similar biological traits. In this framework, we (a) characterized the structure of the epiphytic lichen-host tree networks; (b) assessed how network structure varied with climate, forest attributes and community trait diversity and (c) evaluated the role that biological traits played in the connections established between co-occurring lichens. 3. On the one hand, results indicate that epiphytic lichen communities are dominated by local segregation, suggesting habitat specialization among lichens within their host tree, and that climatic conditions and, to a lesser extent, lichen diversity are the main drivers of community assemblage. On the other hand, the role of lichen species in the networks depends on their particular biological traits, supporting the hypothesis that biological traits contribute to shape network structure by influencing the ability of the species to interact between each other. These findings warn about the potential impact of climate change on epiphytic lichen communities. 4. Synthesis. This study builds towards a better understanding of lichen community assembly and on biodiversity response to climate change in forest alpine ecosystems. In particular, our results highlight the value of lichen-tree networks to inform about assemblage processes acting at different organizational levels and indicate | 1123

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Could Hair-Lichens of High-Elevation Forests Help Detect the Impact of Global Change in the Alps?

Cited by 13 publications

References 73 publications

Macroclimate drives growth of hair lichens in boreal forest canopies

Macroclimate drives growth of hair lichens in boreal forest canopies

Range shifts of native and invasive trees exacerbate the impact of climate change on epiphyte distribution: The case of lung lichen and black locust in Italy

Networks of epiphytic lichens and host trees along elevation gradients: Climate change implications in mountain ranges

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