Biodiv Sci ›› 2011, Vol. 19 ›› Issue (5): 574-580.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2011.07039

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Distribution of forest floor lichen communities in the mountainous area of southern Urumqi, Xinjiang, China

Tumur Anwar, Abdulla Adiljan, Abbas Abdulla*()   

  1. College of Life Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046
  • Received:2011-03-03 Accepted:2011-05-03 Online:2011-09-20 Published:2011-10-08
  • Contact: Abbas Abdulla

Abstract:

Forest floor lichens are sensitive to variations in habitat conditions. To understand the distributional patterns of forest floor lichen communities and how habitat factors relate to dominant lichen species composition and diversity, we sampled 240 plots (50 cm×50 cm) in the mountainous area of southern Urumqi, Xinjiang, China. We detected 17 species in total, belonging to 10 genera and 5 families. Cluster analysis and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) showed that plots clustered into four groups: (1) aCladonia pyxidata+ Cladonia cariosa+ Cladonia chlorophaea community, including seven species with a total coverage of 19.7%; (2) a Solorina bispora+ Cladonia cariosa+ Cladonia scabriuscula community, including 11 species with a total coverage of 21.1%; (3) a Cetraria nivalis+ Cladonia pyxidata community, including three species with a total coverage of 8.1%; and (4) a Peltigera rufescens+ P. polydactylacommunity, including seven species with the total coverage of 23.83%. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the species composition and diversity of floor lichens were most strongly influenced by altitude, then forest canopy density and humidity; the distribution patterns of lichen communities were apparently influenced by human disturbance. Variation in lichen communities among different elevations was related to light availability at ground level.

Key words: floor lichen, species diversity, environmental factor analysis, Xinjiang