Líquenes de la Reserva Natural Integral de Muniellos, Asturias

Argumento de Líquenes de la Reserva Natural Integral de Muniellos, Asturias

Abstract

The present study about the Lichen biodiversity of the Muniellos Natural Reserve falls within the framework of the research line: Lichenology and Plant Ecophysiology, in the Department of Botany and the ICBIBE (Institute «Cavanilles» of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology) of the University of Valencia through the direction of Eva Barreno. The study is also the subject of co-author Sergio Pérez-Ortega’s doctoral thesis. It has been promoted and financially supported by the Dirección General de Recursos Naturales y Protección Ambiental, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Gobierno del Principado de Asturias (General Direction for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Autonomous Government of the Principado of Asturias) and it was made in collaboration with the INDUROT (Institute of Natural Resources and Land Management) of the University of Oviedo.
The main objective was to study exhaustively the biodiversity of lichens in the Reserva Natural Integral de Muniellos (Integral Natural Reserve, Biosphere Natural Reserve of the MAB Program, UNESCO) in Asturias, as well as the ecological value of these thriving elements as bioindicators to be used for Conservation Biology purposes.
The survey, designed and directed by José Antonio Fernández-Prieto, has been carried out along with vascular-plant phytosociologists and bryologists. The fact that the plots of the woodlands, the serial communities or the edaphically conditioned vegetation have been determined together, to study the different ecosystems, has enabled us to demonstrate the extraordinary wealth of lichen flora that exists in these mountains. The ancient woods to be found here seem to have maintained their equilibrium for centuries and have witnessed the quaternary periglacial phenomena. As an added value to the objectives, there were very few references to saxicolous lichens, a field that has remained practically unexplored in the Cantabrian Relief of the Iberian Peninsula.
This book aims also to promote the knowledge of lichens in Spain among people related with Nature conservancy management, either students at any level, teachers or amateurs. As no keys including the «microlichens» were available in Spanish, we produced some original ones, as simple as possible to use or understand. Of course, most of the crustaceous lichens need to be observed under the microscope to be identified correctly.

Lichen biodiversity and bioindication

Species considered, in all literature, as sensitive to small environmental changes, which are present and relatively abundant in Muniellos Reserve, include Alectoria sarmentosa, Arthonia cinnabarina, Arthonia. dydyma, Arthonia leucopellaea, Arthonia stellaris, Arthonia vinosa, Arthopyrenia nitescens, Bacidia beckhausii, Biatora epixanthoides, Biatoridium delitescens, Bryoria fuscescens, Buellia erubescens, Calicium quercinum, Chaenotheca brunneola, Chaenotheca stemonea, Cladonia arbuscula subsp. mitis, Cladonia caespiticia, Cladonia carneola, Cladonia ciliata var. ciliata, Cladonia digitata, Cladonia metacorallifera var. reagens, Cladonia polydactyla, Collema flaccidum, Degelia plumbea, Dimerella lutea, Fuscopannaria ignobilis, F. mediterranea, Gyalideopsis calabrica, Lecanora circumborealis, Leptogium cyanescens, Leptogium hibernicum, Lobaria amplissima, Lobaria pulmonaria, Lobaria scrobiculata, Lobaria virens, Maronea constans, Megalaria laureri, Mycobilimbia sanguineoatra, Mycoblastus sanguinarius, Nephroma parile, Nephroma resupinatum, N. laevigatum, Ochrolechia microstictoides, Ochrolechia pallescens, Ochrolechia szatalaensis, Ochrolechia turneri, Opegrapha niveoatra, Opegrapha ochrocheila, Opegrapha viridis, Opegrapha vulgata, Pachyphiale carneola, Pannaria conoplea, Pannaria rubiginosa, Parmeliellla triptophylla, Peltigera collina, Peltigera horizontalis, Pertusaria amara, Pertusaria coronata, Pertusaria flavida, Pertusaria hemisphaerica, Pertusaria hymenea, Pertusaria leioplaca, Pertusaria ophthalmiza, Pertusaria pustulata, Phaeographis dentritica, Phlyctis agelaea, Phyllopsora rosei, Physconia venusta, Placynthiella dasaea, Porina aenea, Psoroma hypnorum, Ptychographa xylographoides, Pyrenula nítida, Pyrenula nitidella, Pyrenula occidentalis, Ramonia subsphaeroides, Ramonia luteola, Sphaerophorus globosus, Sphinctrina turbinata, Sticta fuliginosa, Sticta sylvatica, Strigula mediterranea, Thelopsis rubella, Thelotrema lepadinum, Trapeliopsis pseudogranulosa, Usnea cornuta, Usnea filipendula, Usnea florida and Usnea longissima.0