Samuel Roturier 
,
Sofia Bäcklund,
Maria Sundén,
Urban Bergsten
Influence of ground substrate on establishment of reindeer lichen after artificial dispersal
Roturier S., Bäcklund S., Sundén M., Bergsten U. (2007). Influence of ground substrate on establishment of reindeer lichen after artificial dispersal. Silva Fennica vol. 41 no. 2 article id 296. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.296
Abstract
Methods to improve the recovery of reindeer lichen after soil disturbance or overgrazing are being sought for areas where reindeer are herded. The effects of four substrates – mineral soil, moss, twigs and pine bark – on the establishment of lichen fragments after total removal of the vegetation were thus studied in a middle-aged pine stand and a clear-cut, both located in a lichen-rich pine-heath. Cladina mitis fragments of two sizes were manually dispersed in 1 m2 quadrats and their movements from their respective dispersal points were registered after one year. The natural re-establishment of lichens in the quadrats was monitored over three years by using digital pictures. In the forest stand, no significant differences were detected in either the fragment movement or the lichen establishment between the different substrates, but the fragment size had positive effects on both parameters. In the clear-cut, the moss substrate was the most suitable not only for the artificially dispersed lichens to fasten to, but also for the natural settlement of lichens from the surrounding lichen mat. More lichen thalli fastened to the bark and twigs substrates than to the mineral soil, but the settlement of lichens from the surrounding was greater on bare mineral soil substrate. The results indicate that artificial dispersal of lichen thalli on an appropriate substrate could be a successful strategy for promoting lichen recovery.
Keywords
mineral soil;
bark;
Cladina mitis;
image analysis;
lichen colonization;
moss;
thallus;
twigs
-
Roturier,
SLU, Vindeln Experimental Forests, Svartberget Fältstation, SE-922 91 Vindeln, Sweden
E-mail
samuel.roturier@esf.slu.se
- Bäcklund, E-mail sb@nn.se
- Sundén, E-mail ms@nn.se
- Bergsten, SLU, Dept of Forest Ecology, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail ub@nn.se
Received 6 July 2006 Accepted 26 February 2007 Published 31 December 2007
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Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.296 | Download PDF
