key groups 5. KEY ECOLOGICAL GROUPS Due to changes in my understanding during-preparation of this report, I have treated ecological groups and functional groups separately; As I am treating them, "ecological groupsll are aggregates of species more or less associated with particular substrates and environmental conditions, but not necessarily sharing the same functions, while *'functional groups@1 (treated in detail in the separate section on them) are sets of species, some of which may also be ecological groups, that have certain functions in common. However, many species are treated under several different groups'of each type, and information on both function and ecology is presented the "Ecological Groups 11 documents (see below), as it occurred to me, at each level of specificity in the hierarchies. To draw attention to "key" groups (which I interpret to mean groups associated with'or .including '"major" or 18specialfl ecological or functional categories), I have summarized my conclusions in the tables and in brief summaries below. A. ECOLOGICA~I GROUPS ORGANIZATION OF TEE INFORMATION; AND GENERAL COMMENTS Information on known or presumed ecological groups (in the loose sense of species or.communities of lichens. found together on similar substrate types and in one or more localities that are known or inferred to share certain ecological features), is summarized in various tables, which are extracted from a.series of long documents providing various types and levels of detail. This is done in three separate "Ecological Groups" documents, for each main substrate group (I. Corticolous / Lignicolous, II. Terricolous / Muscicolous, and III. Saxicolous). The information is mostly sorted first by habitat (substrate type, then various levels of zones or communities of vascular plants, or special habitats) then by province. Variations on this organization were sometimes used to deal with particular problems or -situations. Organization within g'Ecological Group&' Uocuments: Within each substrate group, general information applicable to the group as a whole; and to taxa or communities that occur over a wide range of major zones, is presented first. Likewise, within each zone.and level of community the information is nested, starting with the most general and proceeding towards the most specific. Information on species occurrences in these documents was in turn extracted from the even more specific information on collections at each.locality, presented in the document llCollecting Data". Reasons behind the organization of'the information: Although these methods of organizing and interpreting the information resulted in bulky documents with a fair amount of redundancy, they seemed to be necessary because of the variable and often problematic nature of the information. The purpose was to show the various levels of detail and reliability of the information key groups on which generalizations, inferences.. or speculations were based, at .each level. .I separated the two sets of documents for each main substrate type from each other because my initial attempts at combining the.generalized remarks,and information on vascular plant zones and communities with all the detail from collecting data were leading, to even more- bulky and,complex documents. Also, in the -Ecological Groups documents I wanted to use full sentences, which I did not do in the Collecting Data documents. .Problems in treatment of information from some localities: Due to various difficulties encountered during the process, there are some inconsistencies among the various,documents. Because the documents for each substrate type were prepared- separately, and because of the vagueness.and"ambiguity of both the data and maps, species from the same locality may be treated under different zones, communities, or provinces in different documents;. In some cases my interpretation of the data changed, as I cross-checked among the.documents; e.g., in dealing with the saxicolous taxa from a-locality I may have assumed the site was in a grassland, but when I looked at data on corticolous taxa I released it was actually in a forest. Although this may be cycling reasoning, in some cases the lichen floras themselves influenced my interpretation of the site (e.g., I interpreted site with numerous characteristically alpine.terricolous lichen species under the alpine zone, rather than under subalpine, even when some corticolous species were also listed for the site, because collectors often lump collections made on the way up to the alpine zone under the same locality). In the NEcological Groups" documents, vague or ambiguous data are mostly dealt with in the more generalized parts at the beginning of each level. Elevations: Some errors or discrepancies in elevations.are also present, due to confusion resulting from constantly switching between meters and feet and between maps with different contour intervals. Although,1 have not had time to catch and correct all of these problems, I.do not expect.them to seriously affect the conclusions. '. C. Since no lists of GIS attributes were sent to me, and most of the data are vague, I have presented whatlimited data are available..and made broad-.generalizations based on my.own experience. , KEY ECOLOGICAL GROUPS Saxicolous lichens in aquatic/se&-aquatic habitats: These include Hvmenelia lacustris, Hvdrothvria venosa and some species of ASDiCilia, Dermatocaroon, Staurothele, and Verrucaria: They occur especially in forests or woodlands, and up' into the subalpine or alpine zones. .&#xicolous lichens on exposed, weakly to moderately enriched vertical or overhanging cliffs: Acarosoora Wchloroohanall is characteristic of this habitat in all zones. Saxicolous lichens on strongly enriched surfaces 2 key groups (including some parts of exposed cliffs): CaloDlaca saxicola and Xanthoria spp. are usually dominant; Phvscia spp., some Lecanora spp., and RhizoDlaca spp. are dominants in somewhat less strongly enriched areas. Corticolous lichens on enriched bark in dry to moist deciduous woodlands: These are mostly foliose (including Phvscia spp., Xanthoria spp.) and crustose (e.g., species of CaloDlaca and' Lecanora). Corticolous lichens in moist, later stage deciduous woodlands: Large nitrogen-fixing genera such as Lobaria) are especially characteristic in this group. Terricolous/muscicolous lichens of grassland-Savannah (steppe and shrub-steppe): These include some species that. are restricted to dry, open habitats at low to moderate elevations (e.g., AcarosDora schleicheri, most Psora spp., and vagrant forms of DermatOCarDOn spp.), and others that also occur in forests or the alpine zone (e.g., Cladonia chloroDhaea group, DiDloschistes spp., MeoasDora verrucosa, and the nitrogen-fixers LeDtochidium albociliatum, LeDtosium SPP*, Peltisera rufescens). Corticolous/lignicolous lichens of dry coniferous forests: These generally consist of communities of fruticose ,lichens .(dominated by Letharia spp. in the drier or lower zones, and Bvroria spp. in the moister, higher zones, or also Alectoria sarmentosa in the highest forest zones), foliose lichens (dominated by various combinations of species HvDoovmnia, Melanelia, Parmelia, Platismatiq, TuckermannoDsis, and Vulpicida, or sometimes also other genera, such as ParmelioDsis spp.), and crustose lichens (various genera, including HvDocenomvce spp. on burnt substrates, and most members of the Caliciales, in later . stage, moister communities). Terricolous/muscicolous lichens of dry coniferous forests: Species of Cladonia or Peltiqera generally form dominant communities; various other genera of macrolichens and crustose species also occur. Saxicolous lichens of dry coniferous forests: Umbilicaria species may be among the more characteristic macrolichens on rocks in forests. Corticolous/lignicolous lichens of subalpine areas: Ahtiana SDhaerOSDOrella is characteristic on conifers, although Alectoria sarmentosa and Brvoria spp. are more often the dominant taxa; Tuckermannopsis subalpina is essentially restricted to subalpine shrubs. Terricolous/muscicolous lichens of alpine areas: At least in the North Cascades, the dominants are often either LeDraria nealecta or Cetraria spp., with various other taxa abundant in a few kinds of communities. Most of the species, except some species of Cladonia and Peltiaera, are restricted to or characteristic of the alpine zone. 3 key grqups .Saxicolous lichens of alpine'areas: Many of the taxa more or less restricted to the alpine zone (e.g., AllafitoDarmelia,,Brodoa, ODhioDarma, and SDorastatia, and some.species of Umbilicaria), plus PseudeDhebe spp., which are much more abundant in this zone than in lower ones. , Miscellaneous: .' I _ ._ .' : -.: .; . :. , . I . _. - .I . 4 Environmental factors 6. KEY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Information on environmental factors for major or special concern species, and for various levels of ecological groups, is presented in the documents dealing with those topics, respectively. Data on climate and soil-come primarily from cited reports on the vascular vegetation (mainly Franklin & Dyrness, 1973). Information on other factors consists mainly of data from labels, plus my own opinions, as influenced by my experience and- reading (mostly not cited, except where it is based on studies in the Columbia Basin region). I. HIERARCHICAL CATALOGS OF FACTORS: The first three parts of this summary consists of: ri. CATALOG OF "ULTIMATE" FACTORS (physical, chemical, or biological variables that directly affect the lichens, but interact with each other in complex-ways,