Epiphyte Flora and Diversity on Basal Trunks of Six Old-Growth Forest Tree Species in Southern and Middle Boreal Finland

Abstract

Epiphytic lichen and bryophyte species composition, richness and diversity were surveyed on basal trunks of six common old-growth forest tree species, Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris, Betula pendula, Alnus incana, Salix caprea and Populus tremula, in two old-growth forest areas, one in southern and one in middle boreal Finland. The average species numbers per tree ranged from 18 {Picea) to 27 {Salix) in the southern and from 20 {Populus) to 31 {Salix) in the middle boreal area. A few widespread habitat-generalist species, such as the foliose lichens Hypogymnia physodes and Platismatia glauca, were most abundant on all the tree species, exceptPopulus. Most other epiphyte species showed at least a slight preference for one or two tree species. Populus proved to have the most distinct flora characterized by the abundance of certain, rather specialized crustose lichens and bryophytes. The number of species that occurred on only one tree species was highest on Populus (9) in the southern and on Alnus (18) in the middle boreal area. Differences in bark acidity and structure were the most likely explanations for the differences between tree species in the epiphytic flora and diversity. Salix and Populus were the most important of the tree species studied for the conservation of epiphyte diversity in the boreal forests of Finland.

Evaluation of lichen species resistance to atmospheric metal pollution by coupling diversity and bioaccumulation approaches: A new bioindication scale for French forested areas

“…The number of lichen species was in the same range as those observed in other European forests: e.g., in Italy (Giordani, 2007), Slovenia (Poličnik et al, 2008), or Portugal (Pinho et al, 2004); the Shannon index, however, showed higher values compared to other European and North American forested sites (Mulligan, 2009;Peterson and McCune, 2001). But, this range was higher than in boreal environments (Kuusinen, 1996), probably in relation to specific climate conditions in cold regions. Indeed, the diversity data from the literature are not always comparable since the sampling methods used can sometimes lead to discrepancies between the observations (e.g., Kuusinen and Siitonen, 1998;Selva, 1994).…”

Distribution and composition of the lichenized mycota in a landscape mosaic of southern Brazil

“…Differences in substrate texture are one of the most obvious effects favoring lichen species colonization (Brodo 1973). However, this specifi city of lichens to the substratum may also be related to other factors, such as bark porosity and water retention (Jesberger & Sheard 1973;Kuusinen 1996;Schmidt et al 2001). Although other host trees have rough bark structure, the main occurrence of lichenized fungi was recorded on A. angustifolia.…”

Assessing Biodiversity in Boreal Forests with UAV-Based Photogrammetric Point Clouds and Hyperspectral Imaging

“…Understanding relations between trees and other organisms in a forest ecosystem is required to apprehend but also identify biodiversity of the ecosystem [11]. Therefore, biodiversity can be assessed with several forest structural attributes, such as size variability, canopy cover, amount of dead wood, as well as number of tree species [11][12][13][14][15][16]. According to [17], wide variability in tree size, age, and genotype represent a diverse stand, as well as species richness.…”