Lichens of the Ozarks: Floristics and Implications for Biodiversity Conservation

地衣是由一种真菌和一种藻类组成的有机体，这种共生关系使得两者都能占据各自不适合生存的栖息地。它们占所有真菌的很大比例。地衣是许多陆地生态系统的重要组成部分，但它们在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究。我们对地衣多样性的认识存在着巨大的差距，这些差距阻碍了制定和实施统一的可持续生物多样性保护战略的努力。在北美，唯一的地衣综合区域处理方法已经过时，覆盖了美国北部和加拿大的冰川地区。据估计，10-20%的北美地衣生物群是未知的，初步工作表明，仅在奥扎克就有大约75种地衣是未知的。为了解决这个问题，理查德·哈里斯（纽约植物园）和道格·拉德（自然保护协会密苏里分会）将准备一份对北美中部奥扎克高地地衣的综合处理方案，这里被认为是多种植物和动物生物丰富的中心。该地区主要位于密苏里州南部和阿肯色州北部，但也包括俄克拉荷马州、伊利诺伊州和堪萨斯州的部分地区。欧扎克包括北美最古老的连续暴露的岩石，包括在大陆中部保留的最大的连续林地，并且是日益增加的保护兴趣和活动的主题。在欧扎克地区，许多栖息地都以地衣为主，它们有可能成为有效的生态监测和评估工具。在过去15年完成的初步工作的基础上，哈里斯和拉德将对奥扎克地衣的生物多样性进行全面的、有插图的描述。拟议工作的结果将直接关系到正在进行的保育规划和实施，并将有助于提高多个机构和组织的保育工作的成效。这将包括密苏里州和阿肯色州的稀有和濒危地衣的最新提案，供私人和政府保护机构使用。此外，两个教育组成部分将有助于提高这个非常多样化，但很少被研究的群体的知名度。这是一个主要面向业余爱好者的教育研讨会，也是一个地衣学研究生的机会。学术界和工业界的科学家都可以获得这些关于地衣的知识。由于奥扎克地衣的古老，它们通常对学术生物学家特别感兴趣，因为它们有助于解决地衣作为一个整体的系统发育关系。由于地衣产生的化合物种类繁多，包括那些具有抗生素特性的化合物，它们对工业生物学家特别感兴趣。

Lichens are organisms that are composed of a fungus and an alga, in a symbiotic relationship that allows both to occupy habitats that would be inhospitable to the separate components. They include a significant percentage of all fungi. Lichens are critical components of many terrestrial ecosystems yet they remain largely understudied. There are immense gaps in our knowledge regarding lichen diversity, and these gaps impede efforts to devise and implement unified strategies for sustainable biodiversity conservation. In North America, the only comprehensive regional treatments of lichens are outdated and cover areas in the glaciated regions of the northern United States and Canada. It has been estimated that 10-20% of the North American lichen biota is unknown to science and preliminary work indicates that in the Ozarks alone about 75 species of lichens seem to be previously unknown. To help remedy this, Richard Harris (New York Botanical Garden) and Doug Ladd (The Nature Conservancy, Missouri Chapter) will prepare a comprehensive treatment of the lichens of the Ozark Highlands of central North America, known to be a center of biological richness for diverse groups of plants and animals. The area is primarily within southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, but also includes portions of Oklahoma, Illinois, and Kansas. The Ozarks include the oldest continuously exposed rock in North America, contain the largest contiguous woodland remaining in the midcontinent, and are the subject of increasing conservation interest and activity. Within the Ozarks, many habitats are dominated by lichens, and they have the potential to be effective for ecological monitoring and assessment. Building on initial work completed during the past 15 years, Harris and Ladd will produce a comprehensive, illustrated account of the Ozark lichen biodiversity. The results of the proposed work will be directly relevant to ongoing conservation planning and implementation, and will serve to increase the effectiveness of conservation efforts by multiple agencies and organizations. This would include updated proposals for rare and endangered lichens within Missouri and Arkansas for use by conservation agencies, both private and governmental. Additionally, two educational components will help increase the visibility of this very diverse, but little-studied group. These are an educational workshop primarily geared toward amateurs, and a graduate student opportunity in lichenology. The accessibility of this knowledge on lichens will be available to both academic and industrial scientists. Because of the antiquity of the Ozark lichens they are often of special interest to academic biologists because they help resolve phylogenetic relationships within the lichens as a whole. Because of the large and diverse assemblage of chemical compounds produced by lichens, including those with antibiotic properties, they are of special interest to industrial biologists.