Growth form matters – Crustose lichens on dead wood are sensitive to forest management

Lichens have a vital role in forest ecosystems and they are a threatened group in boreal forests. However, the conservation ecology of the total lichen community has very rarely been studied. Here we studied lichen species and communities, including macrolichens (=foliose and fruticose growth forms) and rarely studied crustose li-chens, on decaying wood in boreal spruce-dominated forests in Finland. We also studied obligate lignicoles that grow only on dead wood and are mostly crustose in growth form. Species richness and community composition were examined on decaying logs and natural or cut stumps of Picea abies at different decay stages (2-5) in 14 stands, half of which were natural or s…