Abstract Detail

Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS

Eversman, Sharon [2], Horton, Diana [1].

Recolonization by Lichens and Mosses of Burned Substrates in Yellowstone National Park.

We examined completely burned wood, soil and rock in 5 meadow and 27 forest sites in Yellowstone National Park to document early colonization by lichens and mosses 13 years after the 1988 fires.  Two mosses, <i>Bryum caespiticium</i> and <i>Ceratodon purpureus <i/>, occurred in all 27 forest sites examined, recolonizing burned wood, soil, and cracks in rocks.  <i>Polytrichum juniperinum<i/> and <i>P. piliferum<i/> were o­n soil in 11 sites.  We identified 13 moss species o­n burned wood substrates and three from burned meadow soil.  Sixteen lichen species, plus soredia and sterile <i>Cladonia<i/> squamules, were identified from burned wood substrates.  Species of <i>Cladonia<i/> were the major recolonizing lichen o­n burned wood and soil.  Nine lichen species were o­n burned rhyolite and granite.  Douglas fir sites had the largest number of lichen species (15), with 11 species in Engelmann spruce and lodgepole pine sites, and six species in whitebark pine sites.  Spruce sites had significantly more moss recolonization o­n burned wood than Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, and whitebark pine sites, and significantly more lichen recolonization than lodgepole pine sites.  The recolonizing lichen species appeared within 13 years after fires, and remain indefinitely in the sites, since they are also present in old forests.  Numbers of lichen species increase with time since fire, but there is not apparent species replacement.  A moss inventory has not been completed for the park; it is not known if more of different mosses will appear through time or succession.  

1 - University of Iowa, Biology Department, 138 Biology Building, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, USA
2 - Montana State University, Ecology Department, Bozeman, Montana, 59717, USA

Keywords:
fire ecology
moss
lichens.

Presentation Type: Paper
Session: 51-6
Location: Magpie (Cliff Lodge)
Date: Wednesday, August 4th, 2004
Time: 2:15 PM
Abstract ID:747