Lichens, Lichenicolous Fungi and Allied Fungi of
Turnipseed WakeNature Preserve, North Carolina, USA
Gary B. Perlmutter
University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden
CB# 3280, Coker Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Table 1. Lichen diversity of Turnipseed Preserve.
Families in bold constitute a significant (>5%)
portion of the biota.
Introduction
Turnipseed Preserve is 90 hectares of county-owned open
space in eastern Wake County in the Outer Piedmont / Fall
Line transition zone of east-central North Carolina (Fig. 1). It
was recently designated a “WakeNature Preserve” by the local
stakeholder group WakeNature Preserves Partnership by
exhibiting high quality ecological resources with a written
plan for their stewardship. Part of the inventory work that
went into the site’s management plan was a lichen survey
conducted in 2009-2011.
Family
Figure 2. Acarospora janae K. Knudsen, newly described from specimens
collected at Turnipseed in 2009 and Las Vegas, New Mexico, 1927-1929
(Lumbsch et al. 2011).
Results & Discussion
Figure. 1. Map of Turnipseed Preserve, Wake County, North Carolina depicting
preselected lichen sample sites (yellow dots).
Methods & Materials
Turnipseed was surveyed of its lichens through multiple visits
to preselected sites, focusing on specific terrestrial habitats: forest
edge of a powerline corridor, floodplain forests, mixed pinehardwood forest, pine-regenerating stands, granitic flatrocks,
granitic boulder clusters / outcrops, and open fields (Fig. 1). At
each site all lichen taxa encountered were recorded with 475
vouchers collected. Specimens were deposited at NCU and
determined using standard laboratory techniques. The more
difficult specimens were sent to outside experts for determination
/ further study.
Data were analyzed by habitat type and subtype. To assess
environmental health, documented pollution-sensitive and
pollution-tolerant species were tallied and compared to other
floras.
Prepared for the 2011 American Bryological and Lichenological Society Annual Meeting, Roan Mountain State Park, Tennessee, June 20-24, 2011.
A total of 170 species were identified in 76 genera,
representing 37 families (Table 1). The largest families
include the Parmeliaceae, Physciaceae, Cladoniaceae,
Pertusariaceae, and Graphidaceae, in descending order. The
remaining 32 families each contain less than 5% of the biota.
The lichen biota was 56% corticolous (96 taxa), 29%
saxicolous (50 taxa), 11% lignicolous (19 taxa), 9%
terricolous (16 taxa), 4% muscicolous (6 taxa) and 1%
lichenicolous (2 species); 15 species were found on multiple
substrate types. By habit, the biota is 55% crustose (93
taxa), 27% foliose (45 taxa) and 18% fruticose (31 taxa).
Twelve new state records were found, including
Acarospora janae (Fig. 2), new to science, and members of
the family Lichenotheliaceae represented by lichenicolous
and rock-inhabiting fungi (Fig. 3).
Lichens were found throughout the preserve, in all
habitats except open fields (Table 2). Mixed forests had the
highest lichen diversities of any forest type, likely owing to
forest stand variability in age and tree composition, plus a
relatively robust floor component.
Six pollution-tolerant (Candelaria concolor,
Flavoparmelia baltimorensis, F. caperata, Physcia
millegrana, Punctelia rudecta and Pyxine subcinerea) and
ten pollution-sensitive (Coccocarpia palmicola, Collema
subflaccidum, Leptogium austroamericanum, L. cyanescens,
Nephroma helveticum, Ramalina culbersoniorum, R.
americanum s. lat., Usnea mutabilis, U. pensylvanica, U.
strigosa, U. scabrosa) macrolichens were found with the
tolerant species in more exposed habitats and the sensitive
ones in shaded forests. Peltigera was notably absent. These
findings suggest a moderate impact of ambient air pollution
from local farms, roads and cities, yet support the notion that
forests act as air scrubbers as wetlands do for water quality.
No. genera No. spp.
% biota
Acarosporaceae
3
6
3.53%
Agyriaceae
2
3
1.76%
Arthoniaceae
2
6
3.53%
Arthopyreniaceae
1
1
0.59%
Candelariaceae
2
2
1.18%
Chrysotrichaceae
1
1
0.59%
Cladoniaceae
1
21
12.35%
Coccocarpiaceae
1
1
0.59%
Coenogoniaceae
1
1
0.59%
Collemataceae
2
3
1.76%
Fuscideaceae
1
1
0.59%
Graphidaceae
6
10
5.88%
Hymeneliaceae
1
1
0.59%
Lecanoraceae
2
6
3.53%
Lecideaceae
1
2
1.18%
Lichenotheliaceae
2
2
1.18%
Lichinaceae
2
2
1.18%
56
Melaspileaceae
1
3
1.76%
56
0
Monoblastiaceae
1
1
0.59%
Mycoporaceae
1
3
1.76%
Naetrocymbaceae
1
1
0.59%
Nephromataceae
1
1
0.59%
Ochrolechiaceae
1
1
0.59%
Parmeliaceae
11
27
15.88%
Pertusariaceae
1
12
7.06%
Phlyctidaceae
1
2
1.18%
Physciaceae
9
22
12.94%
Pilocarpaceae
3
3
1.76%
Porinaceae
1
2
1.18%
Pyrenulaceae
1
3
1.76%
Acknowledgments
Ramalinaceae
3
5
2.94%
I wish to thank Nathaniel Osborne and members of WakeNature for
inviting me to inventory Turnipseed Preserve; lichenologists at BM,
GZU, HBG, MSC, NY and UCR for determining specimens; and the
NCU curatorial staff for allowing space and equipment for identifying
and curating specimens. Fieldwork was conducted under a permit by
the Wake County Dept. Parks, Rec. and Open Space.
Rocellaceae
1
1
0.59%
Sarrameanaceae
1
1
0.59%
Stereocaulaceae
1
5
2.94%
Teloshcistiaceae
1
2
1.18%
Trypetheliaceae
2
2
1.18%
Verrucariaceae
2
3
1.76%
Incertae sedis
Totals:
1
1
0.59%
76
170
Figure 3. Granitic boulder outcrops blackened by expansive colonies of the rockinhabiting fungus Lichenothelia scopularia. This taxon is currently under molecular
study.
Table 2. Lichen community composition within habitat type. Fl = floor, Un =
understory, Ca = canopy, Ro = rock, Ma = mat, Tr = tree, Sh = shaded, Pt = partly
shaded, Ex = exposed.
Habitat
Powerline Corridor (forest edge)
Floodplain Forest
Mixed Pine-Hardwood Forest
Regenerating Pine Stand
Granitic Flatrock
Outcrops
Open Fields
1Percentages
Subtype1
Fl
Un
Ca
6%
59% 46%
9%
79% 29%
24% 72% 29%
6%
68% 42%
Ro
Ma
Tr
32% 29% 43%
Sh
Pt
Ex
37% 59% 18%
----
Total
46
44
86
34
may total >100 per habitat type due to taxa growing in multiple habitat
subtypes.
Conclusions
Turnipseed Preserve is found to have a rich lichen
biota, which is likely attributed to the site’s diverse
habitats with rocky abundance in a transitional
ecoregion as well as an intensive sampling effort.
Literature cited
Lumbsch, H.T. et al. 2011. One hundred new species of lichenized
fungi: a signature of undiscovered global diversity. Phytotaxa 18:
1-127.
For further information
Please contact lushik@aol.com. Information on WakeNature and its
efforts can be found on their website: www.wakenature.org.
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