Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 5
In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Diplophyllum and Ptychostomum, the fungal genera Arrhenia, Gymnosporangium, and Sporidesmium and the lichen genera Arthonia, Coenogonium, Flavoplaca, Gyalolechia, Parmotrema, Peltigera, Pterygiopsis, Squamarina, Tornabea, and Waynea.
The application protocol impacts the effectiveness of biocides against lichens
Abstract This work analyzed the influence of different application protocols on the efficacy of two biocides against the foliose lichen Xanthoparmelia tinctina on the sandstones of the Roman Archaeological site of Luni (Italy). The hypotheses that (a) biocide application tools (brush vs. poultice), (b) pre-treatment hydration, and (c) post-treatment washing may affect devitalization success were verified by monitoring chlorophyll a fluorescence of thalli, both in situ and in laboratory conditions. The hypothesis that (d) stone substrate may act as reservoir for later biocide release under repeated cycles of wetting and drying was also assayed. Analyses confirmed the importance of the applic…
Vitality and growth of the threatened lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. in response to logging and implications for its conservation in mediterranean oak forests
Forest logging can be detrimental for non-vascular epiphytes, determining the loss of key components for ecosystem functioning. Legal logging in a Mediterranean mixed oak forest (Tuscany, Central Italy) in 2016 heavily impacted sensitive non-vascular epiphytes, including a large population of the threatened forest lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. This event offered the background for this experiment, where the potential effects of logging in oak forests are simulated by means of L. pulmonaria micro-transplants (thallus fragments <
Microclimatic Alteration after Logging Affects the Growth of the Endangered Lichen Lobaria pulmonaria
Microclimatic conditions are important in determining lichen distribution at small scale, and may determine whether the species persist when the surrounding environmental conditions have drastically changed. This is the case with forest management, since a sudden variation of microclimatic conditions (increase of solar radiation, temperature, wind and a reduction of humidity) may occur after logging. In this study, the combined effect of forest logging and microclimatic conditions on the growth probabilities and growth rates of the model species Lobaria pulmonaria was assessed in mixed oak stands. To this purpose, 800 fragments of L. pulmonaria (L. pulmonaria populations in logged forests.
Impact of forest management on threatened epiphytic macrolichens: Evidence from a Mediterranean mixed oak forest (Italy)
Abstract: Forest management practices may heavily affect epiphytic cryptogams. This study was conceived in March 2016, as soon as we were informed about an authorized logging for timber within a Mediterranean mixed oak forest in Tuscany (central Italy), which threatened a large population of the forest macrolichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm., composed of hundreds of fertile thalli. Lobaria pulmonaria is often used as an ecological indicator of high quality habitats hosting rare lichens, and in general, cryptogams worthy of conservation. The species has suffered a general decline throughout Europe as a consequence of air pollution and intensive forest management, and currently it is red-l…
New Interpretative Scales for Lichen Bioaccumulation Data: The Italian Proposal
The interpretation of lichen bioaccumulation data is of paramount importance in environmental forensics and decision-making processes. By implementing basic ideas underlying previous interpretative scales, new dimensionless, species-independent &ldquo
Species- and site-specific efficacy of commercial biocides and application solvents against lichens
Abstract Control of lichens on stone cultural heritage is mostly achieved by a combination of mechanical removal with biocide applications. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence on the efficacy of different biocides on different species, and on the consistency of biocide effects on heritage sites in different environmental conditions. This results in some uncertainty when conservation interventions to control lichens are routinely defined on the basis of restoration tradition or empirical evaluation, without experimental measures of how lichens respond. In this work, we quantitatively evaluated (a) the efficacy of five commercially-available biocides, applied using a brush or with…
Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 8
In this contribution, new data concerning algae, bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algae genusChara, the bryophyte generaHomalia,Mannia, andTortella, the fungal generaCortinarius,Russula, andStereum, and the lichen generaCetrelia,Cladonia,Enterographa,Graphis,Lecanora,Lepraria,Multiclavula,Mycomicrothelia,Parmelia,Peltigera,Pleopsidium,Psora,Scytinium,Umbilicaria, andRhizocarpon.