Strong influence of landscape structure on hair lichens in boreal forest canopies

This study examines how island size, isolation, and orientation influence epiphytic hair lichens in old-growth boreal spruce forests within a naturally heterogeneous landscape with approximately 1000 forest islands distributed in open wetland matrix. Forest structure, length of Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach., Bryoria spp., and Usnea spp., and mass of Alectoria in the lower canopy (0-5 m) of Picea abies (L.) Karst. were quantified in 30 islands (0.11-10.9 ha). Length and mass of Alectoria were also studied in 25 edges with different orientation and fetch (wind exposure). Island area had a strong positive effect on length of Alectoria but a minor effect on Bryoria and Usnea. Edge orientation influenced length and mass of Alectoria, with the strongest reduction in wind-exposed western edges, whereas fetch size had no effect. Edge influence on microclimate drives hair lichen response to landscape configuration. The gradient from Bryoria in small islands to Alectoria in large islands is caused by the same mechanisms that influence vertical canopy gradients in large homogeneous stands, with Bryoria in the upper canopy and Alectoria in the lower canopy. Genus-specific, sun-screening pigments contribute to this niche differentiation, but thallus fragmentation by wind and water storage are also important. Our findings imply that lichen conservation must consider the spatial structure of the landscape.