The first detailed survey is presented of a recently discovered population of Erioderma pedicellatum, a globally rare lichen, in the primeval spruce forests of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. Three subpopulations are described, located in the Levaya Schapina River basin, in the Kimitina River basin, and on the slopes of the extinct volcano, Nikolka. In total, we observed 1894 thalli on 167 Yezo spruce trunks. In Kamchatka, E. pedicellatum occurs exclusively on bark-covered spruce twigs of mainly young and dwarf-stressed older trees. We discovered a high number of juvenile thalli, which suggests that this population is reproducing. However, its habitat is declining because spruce forests in the region are the target of industrial clear-cutting and there is a high incidence of forest fires. Over the next 60 years, which corresponds to three generations of E. pedicellatum, we infer that continued habitat loss will induce a 48% decline in these lichen populations. As a result of our analyses, the Asian population is classified as 'Vulnerable', based on IUCN Red List criteria.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)575-585
Number of pages11
JournalLichenologist
Volume51
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2019

    Research areas

  • habitat loss, IUCN Red List, Kamchatka, lichen conservation, old-growth forests

    Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

ID: 72016846