Calicioid Lichens and Fungi of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Selva SB. 2011. Calicioid Lichens and Fungi of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. National Park Service. Fort Kent, ME
Thirty-one species in eight genera of calicioid lichens and fungi are reported for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Six of these, Chaenotheca sphaerocephala Nadv., Chaenothecopsis brevipes Tibell, Chaenothecopsis exilis Tibell, Phaeocalicium flabelliforme Tibell, Sphinctrina leucopoda Nyl., and Stenocybe pullatula (Ach.) Stein, are new records for the park, which brings the total for the park to 49 species in 9 genera. After three years of investigation, the data suggests that the lichenized members of this group of organisms are dying and their numbers are being reduced, from southwest to northeast, in response to the pollution being carried by the prevailing winds. Their non-lichenized counter-parts are not far behind. The thalli and apothecia in the vast majority of calicioid lichen specimens collected are few and far between, display an array of atypical morphologies, and, with 49 species now known for the park, have undoubtedly fallen from higher numbers before the onslaught of invasive tree parasites and air pollution played their havoc on the ecosystem. The lichen herbaria at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, yielded only one unidentifiable Calicium from Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Selva, Steven
- Date of Issue
- 2011-03-15
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- air-quality impacts, All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, ATBI, calicioid lichens, GRSM-00370, Lichens, Pollution
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Air Quality | Air Contaminants