SWAN Inventory Lichen: Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

McCune B. SWAN Inventory Lichen: Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. 2012-2017. National Park Service

Lichens are an important component of biological diversity in high latitude ecosystems and are good subjects for monitoring due to their sensitivity to environmental drivers. They are the primary winter food source for caribou, as well as a source of nesting material and forage for birds and invertebrates. In spite of their ecological significance, information regarding lichen species richness, distribution, and abundance is lacking for most of the parks in Alaska. In the Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN), a combination of emerging management issues (e.g., resource development, increasing contaminant loads) that could alter species composition in lichen communities, changing environmental conditions that could lead to increases or decreases in lichen cover, and a general lack of information regarding the occurrence and richness of lichens underscores the need for baseline inventories. Lichens were inventoried in Lake Clark, Katmai, and Kenai Fjords.

Type
Project
Authors
McCune, Bruce
Publisher
National Park Service
Units
KATM , KEFJ , LACL , SWAN
Keywords
inventory, lichen
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Terrestrial Complex

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