Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Oak-rich forests and wooded pastures harbor diverse and distinct epiphytic lichen flora with
many rare and threatened species. As these habitats have been subject to a substantial decline
and degradation over the past centuries, oak woodlands have progressively come into focus for
preservation. However, conservation-oriented measures require a thorough understanding of
the characteristics of ecologically important host trees and habitats. Therefore, I investigated
lichen diversity and characteristics of 50 trees on an island off the west coast of Sweden. Of the
evaluated tree and habitat variables, crown encroachment had the highest explanatory value for
lichen richness in a highly interrelated web of ecological influences. Combined with stem
damage, crown encroachment showed the potential to capture biodiversity on a community
level. These findings suggest that light availability, as an overarching primary factor, and
microhabitat diversity are the most important characteristics for lichen diversity. Applied to
management, this motivates measures to create more open forests with heterogeneous
structures.