Biologia 72/11: 1247—1257, 2017 Section Botany DOI: 10.1515/biolog-2017-0141 Functional and morphological traits of epiphytic lichens in the Western Carpathian oak forests reflect the influence of air quality and forest history Anna Guttová 1 , Alica Košuthová 1,3 , Debora Barbato 2 & Luca Paoli 2 1 Institute of Botany, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-84523, Bratislava, Slovakia; e-mail: anna.beresova@savba.sk 2 Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Via P. A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy 3 Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno, CZ-61137, Czech Republic Abstract: We analysed a dataset composed by the frequency of 79 epiphytic lichens recorded on 243 oaks distributed in 29 oak dominated stands of the Western Carpathians, representing areas with high environmental quality up to disturbed environments. Lichen diversity indices (based on total frequencies and on functional and morphological groups) were used as indicators of the response to air quality and forest management. The level of air quality in these categories was a function of NOx, SO2 and particulate matter. From management viewpoint the units were classified as managed (areas subjected to periodic logging) and semi-natural (which currently have the status of National Nature Reserve and where eventual management practices date back to the history). The results showed that higher environmental levels of pollution were associated to the decrease of fruticose and in general pollution sensitive species, while low environmental levels of pollution were associated to the diffusion of common nitrophilous lichens as well as to a higher share of fruticose and in general pollution sensitive species. As far as forest management is concerned, a higher share of fruticose and sensitive species was associated to semi-natural and natural stands, whereas a higher share of foliose (pioneer and tolerant) species was associated to the managed stands. Key words: air pollution; biomonitoring; epiphytes; forest management; lichen diversity value; Slovakia. Introduction Oak (Quercus sp.) forests are global hotspots of biodi- versity and are considered as one of the most important habitats in a variety of ecosystems across the temper- ate zone (Gough et al. 2014). Oaks, in particular Q. pe- traea and Q. robur are important broadleaf species in Europe – both economically and ecologically – with a good natural occurrence in Central Europe and partic- ularly in Eastern Europe (Petritan et al. 2012). In a natural state, mature oak-rich forests generally have a semi-open structure, for instance due to grazing by her- bivores (Svenning 2002). In forest types that are nat- urally semi-open, the epiphytes of oak are adapted to relatively dry and sunny conditions (Rose 1992). Almost all the oak forests in Europe have been in- tensively managed. Also present-natural (semi-natural) forests, e.g. nature reserves devoid of current manage- ment activities, are often the result of centuries-old management regimes (Vandekerkhove et al. 2009). Tree harvest may have a negative influence on lichen and bryophyte communities (Giordani 2007; Svoboda et al. 2010; Dingová Košuthová et al. 2013). Epiphytic lichens show closer relationships to stand structure than e.g. plants growing on the forest floor (Fischer et al. 2009). Oak woods are generally rich in epiphytic lichens, en- hanced by light availability and bark properties (tex- ture, humidity, pH), which offer different types of micro- niches and favourable conditions (e.g., Zedda 2002). Atmospheric reactive nitrogen deposition is re- garded as a major driver for the loss of biodiversity in Europe (SCBD 2006; Dise et al. 2011). Changes in species composition usually include the invasion of ni- trophilous species and the decline of sensitive native species (Bobbink et al. 2010; Ochoa-Hueso et al. 2017). Europe can be regarded as an excess nitrogen area, in contrast to developing regions, where nitrogen is limited in food production (Erisman et al. 2011). Part of nitro- gen is finally deposited in natural environments such as forests (Giordani et al. 2014). The inventory of biodiversity at various spatial scales is one of the keys to overall ecosystems descrip- tion for different purposes, e.g. conservation purpose (Spribille & Chytrý 2002). Lichens have been widely used for monitoring air pollution because they directly respond to the atmospheric conditions (Nimis et al. 2002). The mapping of epiphytic lichen diversity to assess changes at community level is an increasingly common approach (Larsen et al. 2007; Cristofolini et al. 2014). One of the first responses of lichen assem- blages to increased nitrogen depositions is the reduc- tion in oligotrophic lichens in favour of an increase c 2017 Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences Brought to you by | University of Exeter Authenticated Download Date | 12/31/17 10:36 AM