Notes on the distribution of lichen biota of Podlasie . III . Nowosady village , Podlaskie province ( north-eastern Poland )

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the biodiversity of lichen species in Nowosady village and surrounding areas. This work was conducted in 2014 (in August) and biodiversity of lichen species growing on tree bark and bushes, on dead wood (anthropogenic origin), glacial erratics, concrete, mortared walls and other specific substrates like eternit roof slates has been assessed. The lichen species represented morphologically diverse forms: crustose (38%), foliose (38%), fruticose (13%), dimorphous (5%), placodial (3%) and squamulose (3%). They belonged to different ecological types including epiphytes (27 species), epixyles (18) and epilithes (12). Out of 39 species identified in Nowosady village, five are included in the Polish red list of lichens: Bryoria fuscescens, Evernia prunastri, Hypogymnia tubulosa, Ramalina farinacea and Ramalina fraxinea. Four taxons from the study area are under statutory protection of species. One species, Ramalina fraxinea is under full protection and 3 species (Bryoria fuscescens, Evernia prunastri and Hypogymnia tubulosa) are under partial protection.


Introduction
Nowosady is a small village located at the border between two mesoregions: Białostocka Upland and Narew River Upper Valley.The lichen biota of these geographical areas is poorly known.
So far, the diversity of lichen biota of several Polish cities has been investigated, including Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia [1], Olsztyn [2] and Świdnik [3].The lichen species inhabiting smaller towns on Podlasie, like Drohiczyn [4], Mielnik [5], Boćki [6] and Białowieża [7] have been also described.The diversity of lichen biota of orchards in different towns has been studied in Slovakia, Italy and Poland [8], and in several Polish villages or rural areas, including Warmia Plain [9], Klewinowo [10] and Hermanówka [11].The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the biodiversity of species in the Nowosady village and its surrounding areas, taking into account their natural environmental conditions.

Study area
Nowosady is a small village in Podlaskie Province located on Północnopodlaska Lowland, at the border of two mezoregions: Narew Upper Valley and Białostocka Upland [12], in the Cg-square of the ATPOL grid square system [13].The village occupies a hilly upland area with elevations reaching 157.3 m above sea level.The terrain was formed by last middle-Poland glaciation.Geologically, the study area was formed by the ground moraine.
The cover of postglacial deposits reaches 200 m and is composed of mainly sands and gravels.The Nowosady village lies in the area where the influence of the moderate warm and moderate humid continental climates meet.The overlapping of the climates and the relief of this area have considerable effect on the flora of the village studied.
The agricultural landscape of this area is intertwined by the fragments of mixed forests, comprising fresh forests (Peucedano-Pinetum) and dry forests (Cladonio-Pinetum), sometimes with communities comprising birch or saplings of oaks and herbal layer dominated by field weed species.The age of these forests is estimated to be 20-40 and 40-60 years.

Material and methods
The study was carried out in Nowosady village and in the nearby areas, in August 2014.The lichen biota was analyzed using methods that are generally accepted in lichenology.A result of the field study was the compilation of a floristic list of all lichen species.Materials for the herbarium, deposited at the Herbarium of the Institute of Biology, University of Białystok, were identified on the basis of morphological traits of their thalli, anatomical details and the thallus content of specific substances reacting with chemical reagents inducing color changes.The nomenclature for lichen species was adopted from Diederich et al. [14]; for Melanohalea and Melanelixia genera from Blanco et al. [15].Species included in the "Red list of the lichens in Poland" were quoted after Cieśliński et al. [16] and protected species after the regulation of the Minister of the Environment dated October 9, 2014, on the protection of species of fungi (OJ from 2014, item 1408) [17].Geographic coordinates of study sites of Nowosady village (53°00'09.5"N / 23°13'00.6"E -53°00'21.6"N / 23°13'45.4"E) were established by GPS.

Diversity of lichens
Out of 40 taxons identified in the study area, 39 were identified to the species level.The presented list of lichen species was ordered alphabetically.

Bryoria fuscescens (Gyeln
The dominant group of lichens comprises species with crustose thalli (38%), which inhabit shaded areas.Some of them colonize smooth tree bark, substrates of anthropogenic origin or soil.Similarly represented are foliose lichens (38%), which prefer more sunny locations.Lichens with dimorphous thalli (5%) live on wooden fences.Numerous are also the species with fruticose thalli (13%), inhabiting tree bark.The percentage of lichens representing other morphological groups (placodial and squamulose) is minor, reaching nearly 6%.
Epixylic lichens.The next most abundant ecological group found in the study area (18 species) consisted of lichens thriving on dead wood.Four of them are exclusively epixylic.In Nowosady village and in the surrounding areas, the epixylic lichens are closely associated with anthropogenic wood substrates (pillars, fences, crosses, utility buildings).Matwiejuk [6], for example, has observed 41 taxons from epixylic lichens in Boćki.In other towns and small localities on Podlaskie Province different number of epixylic lichens was observed: 26 species in Mielnik [5], 24 species in Białowieża [7], and only six species in Drohiczyn [4].Kiercul [10] has observed 26 species representing this type of lichens in Klewinowo and 12 in Hermanówka [11].
Epilithes and lichens of atypical substrates.The epilithic lichen biota was represented by a total of 12 species.Epilithic species grow on natural substrates (glacial erratics, rocks) and anthropogenic surfaces (concrete pillars, mortared walls, tombstones).Exclusively epilithic lichens identified in the study area were Physcia caesia and Lecanora muralis.Eleven species from this group was also found to colonize artificial substrates (concrete, bricks).They included Caloplaca citrina, C. decipiens, Lecanora albescens, or Xanthoria parietina.In the present study these calciphilous lichens accompany nitrophilous species, chiefly from the family Physciaceae.
Total species richness of epilithic lichens found in Nowosady (12 species) appeared comparable to the number of species detected previously in other small villages in Poland: 17 taxons in Klewinowo [10] 9 taxons in Hermanówka [11] and 17 taxons in Polish town -Świdnik.In contrast higher species richness of epilithic lichens was noted in Boćki [6] and Mielnik [5] (38 species) as well as in Drohiczyn [4] and Białowieża [7] (32 and 24 species respectively).An interesting phenomenon of the present study is the tendency for colonization of atypical substrates such as eternit roof slates by lichen species Lecanora muralis and Phaeophyscia orbicularis.Previously Kiercul [10] has observed 15 taxons colonizing atypical substrates in Klewinowo, and only one lichen Lecanora muralis in Hermanówka [11].Nowosady village has a fairly large number of old buildings and wooden fences which offer comfortable living conditions to lichens preferring and colonizing organic substrates.The limited number of natural habitats in the form of rocks or glacial erratics also causes intensive growth of calciphilous lichens colonizing anthropogenic substrates.Obtained results are expected to contribute to the advance of more lichen oriented protection strategies.