Epiphytic lichen diversity in central European oak forests: Assessment of the effects of natural environmental factors and human influences.

Abstract

We tested the epiphytic lichen diversity in relation to human caused and natural abiotic factors in Central European oak forests.In the industrial region, air pollution was the strongest factor. In the agricultural to highly forested regions, lichen diversity was strongly influenced by forest age and forest fragmentation.

We found that several natural factors can in some cases obscure the effect of human influences.

Keywords

• Biomonitoring
• Quercus
• Lichen Diversity Value
• Mantel test
• Pollution