Nebraskaland

Nebraskaland April 2020

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1227699

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40 Nebraskaland • April 2020 Diversity Approximately 5,600 lichen species are known from the continental United States and Canada with roughly 1,110 of these occurring in the Great Plains. In North America, lichen diversity is richest in the moist and shaded eastern deciduous forests; the rugged and diverse Rocky Mountain region; and the cold, northern forests and peatlands. Roughly 350 species are known from Nebraska. For comparison, 700 species have been documented for Wyoming and 500 species for the forest-rich Missouri. Since the year 2000, however, biologists have documented more than 100 new species for our state. These collections were gathered mostly from the western pine escarpments and the cool, moist, central Niobrara Valley. Many more species are certainly awaiting discovery. Lichens are notoriously diffi cult to identify, often requiring chemical tests and microscopic inspection to key them to the species level. Unfortunately, very few biologists have lichen expertise, which limits our ability to survey for them. Ecology Though small in stature, lichens play critical roles in nature. In arid regions, such as the Great Basin, for instance, soil crusts formed in part of lichens help stabilize soils, and lichens containing nitrogen-fixing algae enhance soil fertility. In alpine and boreal regions and areas of the Plains, where lichens are abundant, they help conserve soil moisture, reflect heat and weather and break down rocks, the initial stage in soil development. In areas of Canada, restorationists now establish lichens in recently burned Elegant sunburst lichen graces a marble tombstone (date of death 1911) in a prairie cemetery in southeastern South Dakota.

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