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      Refining the picture: new records to the lichen biota of Italy

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          Abstract

          Based on the analysis of both historical and recent collections, this paper reports an annotated list of taxa which are new to the lichen biota of Italy or of its administrative regions. Specimens were identified using a dissecting and a compound microscope; routine chemical spot tests and standardized thin-layer chromatography (TLC or HPTLC). The list includes 225 records of 153 taxa. Twenty taxa are new to Italy, the others are new to one or more administrative regions, with 15 second records and 5 third records for Italy. Some of the species belong to recently-described taxa, others are poorly known, sterile or ephemeral lichens which were largely overlooked in Italy. Several species are actually rare, either because of the rarity of their habitats (e.g. old-growth forests), or because in Italy they are at the margins of their bioclimatic distribution. The picture of the lichen biota of Italy has now new pixels, but its grain is still coarse. Further analysis of historical collections, increased efforts in the exploration of some areas, and the taxonomic revision of critical groups are still necessary to provide more complete distributional data for new biogeographic hypotheses, taxonomic and ecological research, and biodiversity conservation.

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          Large-scale patterns of epiphytic lichen species richness: photobiont-dependent response to climate and forest structure.

          Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic association of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner. Although the photobiont type is a key life-history trait, tests of the potential differential role of the main photobiont types in shaping large-scale patterns of lichen species richness are still absent. The aim of the study was to test the influences of forest structure and climate on epiphytic lichen species richness across Italy and to see whether these relationships change for groups of species sharing different photobiont types. Regional species richness of epiphytic lichens divided into three main photobiont types (i.e. chlorococcoid green algae, cyanobacteria, and Trentepohlia algae) was retrieved for each of the 20 administrative regions. Multiple linear regression was used to quantify the effect of climate and forest structure, and their potential interaction, on the regional species richness for the three photobiont types, accounting also for the effect of regional area. Regional species richness was associated with both climate and forest structure variables but the relationships with both factors were largely photobiont dependent. Regional area and precipitation were the only predictors included in all the models, confirming the strong dependence of lichens on atmospheric water supply, irrespective of the photobiont type. Number of species with chlorococcoid green algae were further positively associated with cover of high forest, whilst lichens with Trentepohlia were further enhanced by warm temperatures. Cyanolichen species richness was only related to area and precipitation. Our study shed light on the relative importance of climate and forest structure on lichen species richness patterns at the macroscale, showing a differential response of the photobiont types to various environmental determinants. This differential response suggested that the current and future impacts of global change on lichens cannot be generalized and that species richness response will be likely dependent on the photobiont type. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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            Further evidence of the effects of global warming on lichens, particularly those with Trentepohlia phycobionts.

            Increasing evidence suggests that lichens are responding to climate change in Western Europe. More epiphytic species appear to be increasing, rather than declining, as a result of global warming. Many terricolous species, in contrast, are declining. Changes to epiphytic floras are markedly more rapid in formerly heavily polluted, generally built-up or open rural areas, as compared to forested regions. Both the distribution (southern) and ecology (warmth-loving) of the newly established or increasing species seem to be determined by global warming. Epiphytic temperate to boreo-montane species appear to be relatively unaffected. Vacant niches caused by other environmental changes are showing the most pronounced effects of global warming. Species most rapidly increasing in forests, although taxonomically unrelated, all contain Trentepohlia as phycobiont in addition to having a southern distribution. This suggests that in this habitat, Trentepohlia algae, rather than the different lichen symbioses, are affected by global warming.
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              The lichens of the Alps – an annotated checklist

              Abstract This is the first attempt to provide an overview of the lichen diversity of the Alps, one of the biogegraphically most important and emblematic mountain systems worldwide. The checklist includes all lichenised species, plus a set of non- or doubtfully lichenised taxa frequently treated by lichenologists, excluding non-lichenised lichenicolous fungi. Largely based on recent national or regional checklists, it provides a list of all infrageneric taxa (with synonyms) hitherto reported from the Alps, with data on their distribution in eight countries (Austria, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland) and in 42 Operational Geographic Units, mostly corresponding to administrative subdivisions within the countries. Data on the main substrates and on the altitudinal distribution are also provided. A short note points to the main ecological requirements of each taxon and/or to open taxonomic problems. Particularly poorly known taxa are flagged and often provided with a short description, to attract the attention of specialists. The total number of infrageneric taxa is 3,163, including 117 non- or doubtfully lichenised taxa. The richness of the lichen biota fairly well corresponds with the percent of the Alpine area occupied by each country: Austria (2,337 taxa), Italy (2,169), France (2,028), Switzerland (1,835), Germany (1,168), Slovenia (890) and Lichtenstein (152), no lichen having ever been reported from Monaco. The number of poorly known taxa is quite high (604, 19.1% of the total), which indicates that, in spite of the Alps being one of the lichenologically most studied mountain systems worldwide, much work is still needed to reach a satisfactory picture of their real lichen diversity. Thirteen new combinations are proposed in the genera Agonimia , Aspicilia , Bagliettoa , Bellemerea , Carbonea , Lepra , Miriquidica , Polysporina , Protothelenella , Pseudosagedia and Thelidium .
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                MycoKeys
                MycoKeys
                11
                urn:lsid:arphahub.com:pub:C004A564-9D6A-5F9F-B058-6A3815DFE9C3
                MycoKeys
                Pensoft Publishers
                1314-4057
                1314-4049
                2021
                11 August 2021
                : 82
                : 97-137
                Affiliations
                [1 ] BIOME Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy University of Bologna Bologna Italy
                [2 ] Division of Plant Sciences, Institute of Biology, NAWI Graz, University of Graz, Holteigasse 6, 8010 Graz, Austria University of Graz Graz Austria
                [3 ] Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7044, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden University of Trieste Trieste Italy
                [4 ] Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, Italy Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
                Author notes
                Corresponding author: Gabriele Gheza ( gheza.gabriele@ 123456gmail.com )

                Academic editor: Thorsten Lumbsch

                Article
                69027
                10.3897/mycokeys.82.69027
                8373855
                34421323
                ad682d60-374a-4123-85cb-124f53888578
                Juri Nascimbene, Gabriele Gheza, Josef Hafellner, Helmut Mayrhofer, Lucia Muggia, Walter Obermayer, Göran Thor, Pier Luigi Nimis

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 22 May 2021
                : 08 July 2021
                Categories
                Research Article
                Ascomycota
                Biodiversity & Conservation
                Species Inventories
                Alps
                Europe
                Italy
                Southern Europe and Mediterranean

                alps,biodiversity,floristics,herbarium specimens,rarity
                alps, biodiversity, floristics, herbarium specimens, rarity

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