Practical conservation action on a Critically Endangered lichen species

To save a species on the verge of extinction, an urgent practical conservation action was performed on the Critically Endangered lichen species Leptogium hibernicum in Norway. A transplantation experiment at two lo-calities was carried out in close cooperation with the responsible authorities. An alarming problem for L. hibernicum is the imminent challenge of a habitat under threat. A parallel experiment with a comparable yet common species, Leptogium saturninum, was performed to exclude variables related to the experimental method. Four years after transplantation of lichen fragments, the rate of survival has levelled off to about 12% for L. hibernicum and 19% for L. saturninum. The decrease in surviving material is largest one year after trans-plantation, while the amount of surviving material stabilises over the following three years. Transplantation is here shown as a promising tool for the practical conservation of red-listed lichens.