Bole epiphytic lichens as potential indicators of environmental change in subtropical forest ecosystems in southwest China |
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| Institution: | 1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China;2. School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi 653100, China;3. Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, Kunming 650204, China;4. Institute of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria;1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China;2. Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China;3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;4. State Key Laboratory of Paleobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;5. Faculty of Land Resource Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China;6. Shanghai Chengshan Plant Science Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China;1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China;2. Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yezin, NayPyiTaw 05282, Myanmar;3. Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650204, China;4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China |
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| Abstract: | Lichen epiphytes are applied as excellent environmental indicators worldwide. However, very little is known about epiphytic lichen communities and their response to forest dynamics in subtropical China. This paper proposes the applications of the cover, diversity, and functional traits of epiphytic lichens to assess environmental changes associated with succession in subtropical forests of southwest China. Bole lichens were sampled from 120 plots of eight representative forest types in the Ailao Mountains. Total cover, species richness, diversity and community structure of bole lichens differed significantly among forest types, and the highest cover and diversity occurred in the Populus bonatii secondary forest (PBSF). Sixty-one indicator species were associated with particular forest types and more than 50% occurred in the PBSF. Both cover and diversity of most lichen functional groups varied regularly during forest succession. Lichen pioneer species were not displaced by competitively superior species as succession proceeds and cyanolichens were more prevalent in secondary forests. The results also highlight the importance of habitat variables such as canopy openness, host diversity, forest age, tree size, the size of the largest tree, tree density, and basal area on the lichen community. Consequently, our findings support the notion that epiphytic lichens, in terms of cover, diversity, species composition and functional traits can be used as effective indicators for large-scale and long-term forest monitoring. More importantly, the narrowly lobed foliose group was the best candidate indicator of environmental conditions in this region. The combined application of lichen indicator species and functional groups seemed to be a more reliable and more powerful method for monitoring forest dynamics in subtropical montane ecosystems. |
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