Abstract

Despite a large body of work on the serpentine-substrate effect on vascular plants, little work has been undertaken to describe lichen communities growing on serpentine soils derived from peridotite and other ultramafic rocks. Most such work has been conducted in Europe and western North America. Only one study to date has examined the lichen flora of an ultramafic outcrop in eastern North America. The current paper examines the lichen flora of a peridotite outcrop from Deer Isle, Hancock County, Maine, U.S.A. The lichen flora is presented along with relevant ecological and geochemical data. Sixty-three species were found, comprising 35 genera. Two species, Buellia ocellata and Cladonia symphycarpia, are new reports for New England. Fuscopannaria praetermissa, Psorula rufonigra, and Spilonema revertens are new reports for Maine. Twenty species including one genus, Lobaria, are new reports for ultramafic soils worldwide. Buellia ocellata, P. rufonigra, and S. revertens are reported from several localities on the outcrop. Soil analyses were conducted for pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, heavy metals, and cations. Soil pH and cation and heavy metal concentrations are similar to those reported from west coast ultramafic soils suggesting that a similarly strong substrate effect may exist for species present on ultramafic soils in eastern North America.

Disciplines

Biology

Number of Pages

18

Publisher statement

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Nishanta Rajakaruna was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.

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URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/bio_fac/511