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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «BIOLOGIYA. ECOLOGIYA»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «BIOLOGY. ECOLOGY»
ISSN 2073-3372 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Biology. Ecology». 2025. Vol 53

Ecological Groups, Life Forms of Epiphytic Lichens of the Cis-Baikal Region and the Environmental Contour Method: A Review

Author(s)

A. V. Lishtva

Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk, Russian Federation

Abstract
In the Baikal region, 433 species of lichens were identified as epiphytes, including 11 lichen-like and 14 species of saprophytic fungi. Based on ecological consistency and the need for air humidity, five ecological groups of lichens are isolated in relation to aridity–humidity indices: hygromesophytes – 71 species (16%) of the entire flora, mesophytes – 264 species (61% of the flora), xeromesophytes – 52 species (12%), xerophytes – 17 species (4%) and cryoxerophytes – 29 species (7% of the flora). By delineating the district's territories based on aridity-humidity indices, five eco-climatic contours were identified: non-arid areas of constant and excessive moisture (150 species); dispersed-arid areas of optimal moisture (302 species); slightly arid areas of insufficient moisture (94 species); moderately and moderately arid (43 species), and cryoarid (62 species), © Лиштва А. В., 2025 *Полные сведения об авторе см. на последней странице статьи. For complete information about the author, see the last page of the article. 18 А. В. ЛИШТВА Известия Иркутского государственного университета. Серия «Биология. Экология». 2025. Т. 3. C. 17–41 The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Biology, Ecology, 2025, vol. 53, pp. 17-41 differing in the number of epiphytic lichen species. Overall, the epiphytic lichen flora of the CisBaikal region is mesophytic, with a significant presence of hygromesophytic and xeromesophytic species. The greatest species richness is observed in the dispersed-arid climate of optimal moisture. The wide diversity of ecotopes within each eco-climatic contour and the diversity of lichen ecotypes are among the main reasons for the presence of species with different life forms in the epiphytic lichen flora. Among the epiphytic lichens of the Cis-Baikal region, 27 life forms have been identified using a hierarchical system, grouped into six classes, four phyla, and two divisions. Plagiotropic crustose and foliose species predominate in the life form class spectra across all identified ecological and climatic zones, but the life forms themselves vary significantly. Significant diversity in the life strategies of crustose species is observed under conditions of dispersed-arid optimal moisture.
About the Authors
Lishtva Andrey Vladimirovich, Candidate of Sciences (Biology), Associate Professor Irkutsk State University 1, K. Marx st., Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation e-mail: Lishtva@rambler.ru
For citation
Лиштва А. В. Экологические группы, жизненные формы эпифитных лишайников Предбайкалья и метод эколого-климатических контуров: обзор // Известия Иркутского государственного университета. Серия Биология. Экология. 2025. Т. 53. С. 17–41. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3372.2025.53.17
Keywords
epiphytic lichens, ecological groups, life forms, ecological and climatic contours, the Cis-Baikal region.
UDC
582.29:581.93(571.53)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3372.2025.53.17
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