A summary of threats to at risk lichens of Nova Scotia
Brad Toms1
1Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, Kempt, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Nova Scotia hosts one of the most diverse flora of lichens in North America. Several species of lichen have been assessed as Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern by COSEWIC and other species are of conservation concern under the Nova Scotia special management practice for rare lichens on Crown Land. A desktop exercise to assess landscape level threats to these species and identify conservation opportunities unique to each species was undertaken in 2021. In a GIS a buffer was applied to each species as a special management practice on Crown Land. The buffers were then visually inspected for threats (roads, forestry, power corridors etc). Land ownership information was obtained for each location and summarized for each species by type (provincial, federal, ENGO, private, corporate). Species examined include: Boreal felt lichen (Erioderma pedicellatum), Vole ears lichen (Erioderma mollissimum), Powdered moon lichen (Sticta limbata), Frosted glass-whiskers (Sclerophora peronella), Blue felt lichen (Pectenia plumbea, formerly Degelia plumbea), Poor man’s shingle (Parmeliella parvula), Wrinkled shingle lichen (Pannaria lurida), Hibernia jellyskin lichen (Leptogium hibernicum), Eastern waterfan lichen (Peltigera hydrotheria), Black foam lichen (Anzia colpodes) and Ghost antler lichen (Pseudevernia cladonia).
Keywords: Lichens, threats, landscape connectivity, monitoring, stewardship
Presentation type: Poster
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