Lichen Biodiversity and Conservation Status in the Copeland Forest Resources Management Area: a Lichen-Rich Second-Growth Forest in Southern Ontario
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Lichen Biodiversity and Conservation Status in the Copeland Forest Resources Management Area: A Lichen-Rich Second-Growth Forest in Southern Ontario R. T ROy MCMuLLin 1, * and JAMeS C. L endeMeR 2 1Biodiversity institute of Ontario Herbarium, department of integrative Biology, university of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario n1G 2W1 Canada 2institute of Systematic Botany, new york Botanical Garden, Bronx, new york 10458-5126 uSA *Corresponding author; email: [email protected] McMullin, R. Troy, and James C. Lendemer . 2013. Lichen biodiversity and conservation status in the Copeland Forest Resources Management Area: a lichen-rich second-growth forest in southern Ontario. Canadian Field-naturalist 127(3): 240– 254. Southern Ontario is the most densely populated region in Canada. As a result, ubanization, industrialization, and agriculture are extensive. Few ecosystems in the region have been unaltered, and second-growth forests now dominate the remaining natural landscape. To better understand the lichen diversity in these second-growth forests, we inventoried 24 distinct vegetation communites in the Copeland Forest Resources Management Area (1780 ha) located between Barrie and Orillia in September and October 2011, recording 154 species in 79 genera. One species, Lecidea sarcogynoides , was collected for the first time in Canada and is reported for the first time in north America; one additional species, Micarea micrococca, was collected for the first time in Ontario and is reported for the first time in Canada; three species that have previously been collected in Ontario— Bellemerea cinereorufescens , Phlyctis speirea, and Xanthoparmelia angustiphylla —are reported for the first time in the province; and Candelariella lutella was collected and is reported for the second time in Ontario and the third time in Canada. in addition, six species with a provincial status rank of S1 (critically imperilled) or S2 (imperilled) were located: Arthonia byssacea , Arthonia ruana, Chaenothecopsis pusiola , Cresponea chloroconia , Pachyphiale fagicola , and Placynthiella uliginosa . Our results show that second-growth forests can be important refugia for lichen diversity. The majority of the lichen diversity within the Copeland Forest was contained in a small number of sites (6 of 24). This suggests that management strategies should integrate lichen diversity by targeting species-rich areas. We found that sites with a high variation in: canopy closure, tree species, tree age, moisture, and the presence of snags had the highest lichen diversity. Forest managers in southern Ontario can use our results to identify species-rich areas on their properties. Key Words: Lecidea sarcogynoides ; Bellemerea cinereorufescens ; Phlyctis speirea ; Xanthoparmelia angustiphylla ; Candelariella lutella ; Arthonia byssacea ; Arthonia ruana ; Chaenothecopsis pusiola ; Cresponea chloroconia ; Pachyphiale fagicola ; Placynthiella uliginosa ; sustainable forest management; biodiversity; biogeography; Appalachian-Great Lakes; Copeland Forest Resources Management Area; Ontario Introduction level of division that shapes lichen community struc - The lichen biota of Ontario is rich and abundant; ture (nash 2008; Brodo et al. 2001). Much more specif - approximately 1070 species are currently known from ically, many lichens require particular substrates. The the province (newmaster et al., in press), and the lichen substrate requirements for some species are broad, and biomass in some areas is over 9000 kg/ha (McMullin they may grow on a range of types of bark, leaves, et al. 2011). The total terrestrial area of Ontario is rocks, soil, or wood, while other lichen species require 917 741 km 2, which covers a number of diverse ecore - substrates as specific as particular tree species at a par - gions (Perera et al. 2001). Many species have special - ticular stage of development (Söderström 1988; Bot - ized habitat requirements, and the diversity of the land - ting and delong 2009; McMullin et al. 2010). defined scape accounts for the relatively large number of lichens amounts of light and moisture are also of primary im - known from the province. portance for many lichen species (Kenkel and Bradfield Most lichen species require specific habitats, micro - 1986; Coxson and Coyle 2003; Coxson and Stevenson habitats, and substrates (Schmitt and Slack 1990; 2007). An understanding of the habitats that are most Kuusi nen 1996; McMullin et al. 2008). This specificity important for lichen diversity is therefore required to includes lichen communities that change in composi - manage these organisms effectively. tion along a broad bioclimatic gradient from the Arctic/ Managing lichen diversity in southern Ontario pres - alpine zone through boreal, temperate, and tropical ents a number of challenges. The first is a fundamental zones. in Ontario, all but tropical conditions are pres - lack of baseline data: comprehensive knowledge of ent (Ahti 1964; Gowan and Brodo 1988; Brodo et al. the lichen biota before it was altered by air pollution 2001). and development is lacking. Many lichen species are Specific ecosystems, such as bogs, cliffs, coastal intolerant of air pollution (Henderson 2000). Although areas, deserts, forests, prairies, and swamps, are the next point source emissions may be controlled, much of the 240 2013 MCMuLLin And LendeMeR : L iCHen diVeRSiTy in THe COPeLAnd FOReST 241 air pollution in southern Ontario is wide-ranging and communities), and (4) identify sites with high lichen difficult to isolate. extensive urban, industrial, and agri - richness. cultural development is the cause of this air pollution These objectives aim to produce a baseline inven - (Bates and Sizto 1987), but this development has also tory which can be used to monitor any changes in resulted in the loss of much of the old-growth forest lichen diversity over time. identifying the sites that that once dominated the landscape (Henry and Quinby are most important for capturing lichen diversity will 2010). assist forest managers with producing management Many lichen species require habitats that are char - strategies that target these areas. The results can be acteristic of old-growth forests (Lesica et al. 1991; used in the development of sustainable management Goward 1994; McMullin et al. 2008), and most of strategies, both in the study area and throughout south - those species are sensitive to changes in their environ - ern Ontario in other second-growth forests. ments (esseen and Renhorn 1998; Chen et al. 1993; McMullin et al. 2010). An important part of managing Methods lichen diversity in southern Ontario now means under - Study area standing how species colonize second-growth forests. The Copeland Forest Resources Management Area The purpose of this study was to better understand is located in southern Ontario approximately 15 km the lichen diversity of second-growth forests in south - north of Barrie and 15 km west of Orillia (Figure 1). ern Ontario by examining a representative sampling it lies between 44°32'34" and 44°35'43"n and be - of habitats in the Copeland Forest Resources Manage - tween 79°44'31" and 79°39'19"W. Highway 400 runs ment Area north of Barrie. Specific objectives were along the length of the northwest side of the Copeland, to (1) determine the number of lichen species in the and Horseshoe Valley Road runs the length of the Copeland, (2) determine the frequency of occurrence southeast side. A continuous property covering 1780 of each lichen species, (3) resolve whether alpha diver - hectares (Golas 1980), the Copeland Forest is a mul ti- sity differs among different sampling sites (vegetation use natural recreation area that is used mainly by FiGuRe 1. The Copeland Forest Resources Management Area with the 24 sampling sites illustrated. Sampling sites are described in Table 1. 242 THe CAnAdiAn FieLd -n ATuRALiST Vol. 127 moun tain bikers, horseback riders, hikers, hunters, and to it as an “intelligent meander”, as it allows more time crosscountry skiers. An extensive network of trails in to be spent in areas with a higher number of lichen the Copeland Forest is maintained by Horseshoe Resort species. for its clientele, particularly for crosscountry skiing. Lichen abundance was determined by the number One of the primary rail lines connecting southern of sampling sites in which each species occurred. A Ontario to western Canada also runs through the forest, voucher specimen of each taxon was collected at each with multiple diesel-powered trains passing through site that was inventoried. daily. Lichen identification The study area lies within the Great Lakes-St. Vouchers were identified using a stereo or com - Lawrence Forest Region and is characterized by rolling pound microscope and chemical spot tests with para- hills, treed wetlands, small ponds, and deciduous mixed - phenylenediamine in ethyl alcohol, nitric acid, sodium wood and coniferous forests (Rowe 1972). The mean hypochlorite, 10% potassium hydroxide, and Lugol’s regional temperature in January is −8.4°C and in July iodine (Brodo et al. 2001). Chemistry was further it is 20.6°C (environment Canada 2012). The average examined using a long-wave ultraviolet light chamber. annual rainfall is 750.6 mm and the average snowfall Specimens that could not be reliably identified by mor - is 292.6 cm (environment Canada 2012). phology , spot tests, or ultraviolet light were analyzed Virtually all of the forested land in the study area is for secondary chemistry using thin-layer chromatog - second-growth. The first recorded evidence