Exploiting hot-spots; effective determination of lichen diversity in a Carpathian virgin forest

Jan Vondrák, Jiří Malíček, Zdeněk Palice, František Bouda, Franz Berger, Neil Sanderson, Andy Acton, Václav Pouska and Roman Kish

PLOS ONE, 2018, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: Although lichenized fungi are among the most reliable indicators of forest quality and represent a considerable part of forest biodiversity, methods maximizing completeness of their species lists per area are lacking. Employing a novel methodological approach including a multi-expert competition and a search for local hot-spot plots, we have obtained outstanding data about epiphytic lichen biota in a part of the largest Central European virgin forest reserve Uholka–Shyrokyi Luh situated in Ukrainian Carpathians. Our field research consisted of two four-day periods: (1) an overall floristic survey and a search for spots with raised lichen diversity, and (2) survey in four one-hectare plots established in lichen diversity hot-spots along an altitudinal gradient. Recorded alpha-diversities in plots ranged from 181–228 species, but estimated species richness is in the range 207–322 species. Detected gamma-diversity was 387 species; estimates are 409–484 species. 93% of the species found in the forest were recorded in plots, but only 65% outside the plots. This underlines the high-efficiency of the multi-expert competitive survey in diversity hot-spot plots. Species richness in each one-hectare plot was equal to the numbers of species obtained by floristic surveys of much larger old-growth forest areas in Central Europe. Gamma-diversity detected in the Uholka primeval forest far exceeded all numbers achieved in Central European old-growth forests. Our method appears to be both effective (it obtains a more nearly complete inventory of species) and practical (the resources required are not unreasonably large).

Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0203540

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203540

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