Lichen diversity in the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot region, India

Abstract

Eastern Himalaya, a part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot region has been assessed for its lichen diversity, based on the own collections, identifications, field observations and published literature. Out of ca 2540 species so far, known from India, 1047 species,1 sub species and 4 varieties distributed in 592 crustose, 321 foliose, 125 fruticose and 9 squamulose growth forms under 212 genera and 63 families, occurring as corticolous, saxicolous, terricolous, foliicolous, and muscicolous constitute c. 41.22 % of the total lichen diversity of the country. The lichen vegetation is recognized into four major types and discussed under (i) tropical lichen vegetation (ii) sub tropical lichen vegetation (iii) temperate lichen vegetation and (iv) subalpine and alpine lichen vegetation. A comparative statistics of diversity of species under dominant families and genera at India and Eastern Himalaya level is given. The region is also active centre of speciation and represented by 107 endemic species including many point endemics. It is pointed out that this rich diversity of lichens is under threat due to various biotic activities. Therefore, conservation measures concerning rich lichen diversity in brief are also discussed. It is also suggested that unexplored high altitude areas are required to be explored thoroughly for getting complete knowledge of the lichen diversity of the region and finally its utilization for the welfare of human beings.

A new record of bloodstain lichen (Haematomma) from Southern Western Ghats to the Indian biota

“…Include, H. wattii, H. puniceum and H. leprarioides which were recorded from India. This study ensures that H. collatum has not been documented in India (Singh et al, 2018). Brodo et al (2008) has documented H. collatum from Sri Lanka and he also state that the species may be available in Indian subcontinent as both the countries share the Western Ghats as a common phytogeographical area.…”

“…This study ensures that H . collatum has not been documented in India (Singh et al, 2018). Brodo et al (2008) has documented H .…”

New Distributional Records of Lichens for the State of Mizoram, Indo-Burma Region of India

“…distributed in tropical and subtropical regions followed by the families Thelotremataceae, Pyrenulaceae, Caliciaceae, Lecanoraceae, Physciaceae, Tryptheliaceae, Teloschistaceae and Collemataceae [8]. Moreover, Singh et al reported the addition of 411 species to the list of annotated checklist 2010, therefore the total number of lichens recorded from India became 2,714 [9].…”

“…Therefore, it has been always bird's eye view for researcher to explore and investigate new species from this region. With concern to lichens, so far, the NER were recorded with 41.22 % (1,047 species) of the total lichen diversity of the country and the growth forms of lichens distribution were recorded as 592 in crustose, 321 foliose, 125 fruticose and 9 squamulose under 212 genera and 63 families [9]. Since the report of lichens diversity in NER is still unexplored in different remote areas and many species are remain unidentified as far as the literature and the studies were concerned [12].…”

A new record of pyrenocarpous lichen to the Indian biota

“…Pyrenocarpous taxa commonly grow on the bark of a number of trees or sometimes on rocks, soil, or leaves in moist tropical and temperate regions of the world. The Western Ghats and eastern Himalayan regions hold the highest number of cryptogams together with lichens (Sinha et al 2018). Both regions are rich in biodiversity so far and lichenologically were investigated by various workers for doing revisionary and floristic studies of the states.…”