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Environmental and historical effects on lichen diversity in managed and unmanaged wooded meadows
Author(s) -
Jönsson Mari T.,
Thor Göran,
Johansson Per
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
applied vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.096
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1654-109X
pISSN - 1402-2001
DOI - 10.1111/j.1654-109x.2010.01096.x
Subject(s) - species richness , geography , crustose , ecology , lichen , habitat , species diversity , epiphyte , forestry , biology
Abstract Question: Which environmental and historical variables affect epiphytic lichen diversity in managed and unmanaged wooded meadows? Location: The island of Gotland located in the Baltic Sea east of the Swedish mainland. Methods: We examined total epiphytic lichen diversity (crustose, foliose and fruticose species) on 1148 trees in eight grazed, eight traditionally managed (mowing, hay gathering and pollarding) and seven unmanaged wooded meadows. In addition to management, data on site location, habitat structure, history and adjacent habitat were analysed. Results: Lichen species richness increased with wooded meadow area and was greater within managed sites than in unmanaged meadows. Historic crown cover (ca. 1930) also influenced present‐day lichen richness. Geographic location, distance to sea, wooded meadow area and average tree circumference were important determinants of lichen species composition. Tree circumference was the strongest overall predictor of the number of species on individual trees. However, tree circumference interacted with management regime, whereby cessation of management appeared to reduce species richness most on large trees. Traditionally managed sites, on average, supported the greatest richness of red‐listed species. Conclusions: Management regime, wooded meadow area and canopy cover were the main drivers of lichen species richness, while geographic location, wooded meadow area, distance to sea and average tree circumference were important determinants of species composition.