Muzeul Olteniei Craiova. Oltenia. Studii şi comunicări. Ştiinţele Naturii. Tom. 34, No. 2/2018 ISSN 1454-6914 57 LICHEN DIVERSITY OF GÖLCÜK NATURE PARK (ISPARTA), INCLUDING NEW RECORDS FOR TURKEY YAVUZ Mustafa, ÇOBANOĞLU Gülşah Abstract. In this study where the lichen biodiversity of Gölcük Nature Park and its surroundings in Isparta province located in the north-western part of Mediterranean Region of Turkey is assessed, a list of 189 lichenized fungi species (192 taxa) is reported. The most frequent 3 species in the study area are Melanohalea exasperata, Anaptychia ciliaris and Lecidella elaeochroma. Distribution of lichenized fungi depending on the substrate, respectively, is (41.67%) epiphytic, (36.56%) saxicolous, (14.52%) terricolous, (3.76%) muscicolous and (3.49%) lichenicolous. On a morphological basis, the crustose lichen taxa predominate in the area with 55.50% percentage, followed by the foliose (25.13%) and the squamulose (7.85%) taxa, while the leprose taxa are the fewest. Among the identified taxa, 73 species are firstly recorded for the research area and Isparta province. Diplotomma pharcidium (Ach.) M. Choisy, Flavoplaca granulosa (Müll. Arg.) Arup, Frödén & Søchting, and Miriquidica pycnocarpa (Körb.) are three new records for Turkish Lichen Mycota. Keywords: Lichenized fungi, diversity, Mediterranean Turkey. Rezumat. Diversitatea lichenilor din Parcul Natural Gölcük (Isparta), inclusiv înregistrări noi pentru Turcia. În acest studiu, este evaluată biodiversitatea lichenilor din Parcul Natural Gölcük și împrejurimile sale din provincia Isparta situată în partea de nord-vest a regiunii mediteraneene a Turciei, fiind raportată o listă cu 189 specii de fungi lichenizați (192 taxoni). Cele mai frecvente 3 specii din zona studiata sunt Melanohalea exasperata, Anaptychia ciliaris și Lecidella elaeochroma. Distribuția fungilor lichenizati, în funcție de substrat, este (41,67%) epifită, (36,56%) saxicolă, 14,52% tericolă, 3,76% muscicolă și 3,39% lichenicolă. Din punct de vedere morfologic, taxonomia lichenilor crustoşi predomină în zonă cu un procent de 55,50%, urmată de taxonii foliaţi (25,13%) și scuamoşi (7,85%), în timp ce restul taxonilor sunt reduşi. Dintre taxonii identificați, 73 de specii sunt înregistrate în primul rând pentru zona de cercetare și provincia Isparta. Diplotomma pharcidium (Ach.) M. Choisy, Flavoplaca granulosa (Müll. Arg.) Arup, Frödén & Søchting și Miriquidica pycnocarpa (Körb.) sunt trei noi înregistrări pentru Lichen Mycota din Turcia. Keywords: fungi lichenizaţi, diversitate, zona mediteraneană a Turciei. INTRODUCTION Lichens are by definition symbiotic organisms, usually composed of a fungal partner, the mycobiont, and one or more photosynthetic partners, the photobiont, which is most often either a green alga or a cyanobacterium (NASH, 2008). Being sensitive to environmental changes due to their physiological and ecological characteristics (HAWKSWORTH & ROSE, 1976; SALO et al., 2012) lichens have been used as indicators for air pollution, climatic changes, forest structures and dynamics regarding the quality of biodiversity (GIORDANI et al., 2012). Studies on “lichen biodiversity of Turkey” have more importance and value than it had in past, since the country has a great degree of lichen biodiversity that must be protected as well as the plant biodiversity. In spite of the increased number of studies concerning the diversity of lichens in Turkey in recent decades, there is yet insufficient information regarding lichen mycota in many areas of the country. Isparta is a province located in the northwestern part of Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Lichen mycota of Gölcük Nature Park, located in southwestern part of Isparta province, has never been comprehensively studied before, although there have been several studies already reporting lichens from the province of Isparta. The publications including lichen records from Isparta province are SZATALA (1960); MAYRHOFER (1984); MAYRHOFER et al. (1990); KAYNAK et al. 1997; ÖZTÜRK et al. (1998); ÖZTÜRK & KAYNAK (1997, 1999); ÖZTÜRK et al. (2005); ÇOBANOĞLU & YAVUZ (2006); CZEIKA & CZEIKA (2007); ORAN et al. (2007); ŞENKARDEŞLER (2009); HALICI et al. (2012, 2013); KOÇ et al. (2014); TÜRK et al. (2015); SEZER (2016); KOÇ et al. (2016), and VONDRAK et al. (2016), in chronological order. According to this relevant literature from previous researches, a total number of 347 taxa have been recorded from Isparta province. The present study aims to determine the diversity of lichenized fungi of the study area “Gölcük Nature Park” in Isparta and to contribute to the Turkish lichen mycota. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area. The study area including the Gölcük Nature Park and its surroundings within the borders of Isparta province covers a surface area of 5,925 ha. The Gölcük Nature Park is situated in the southwestern part of the city located between 37°38’ – 38°03’ N and 30°22’ – 30°45’ E in the C3 square of grid system of Turkey. Isparta province and the study area indicated by a circle as well as Gölcük Nature Park (GNP) are shown in Fig. 1. The park and the study area are surrounded by mountains in south and hills in west and by Isparta city centre in north. Gölcük, which is a caldera lake formed in Early Pliocene, has an altitude of 1380 m and is surrounded by circles of volcanic cones ranging between 1480 m (in north) to 1630 m (in west). The climate of the study area has semi-arid