Lichen communities across a subarctic region of Northern Quebec (Canada): conservation status, α- and β-diversity, and functional traits

Lichen communities across a subarctic region of Northern Quebec (Canada): conservation status, α- and β-diversity, and functional traits | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Lichen communities across a subarctic region of Northern Quebec (Canada): conservation status, α- and β-diversity, and functional traits Carlos Cerrejón, Osvaldo Valeria, Diane L. Haughland, Nicole J. Fenton This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4686733/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Jun, 2024 Read the published version in The Bryologist → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Conservation of lichens is impeded by knowledge gaps on their distribution and habitat requirements. This is a significant issue in vast, isolated and harsh environment regions such as subarctic regions, where lichen communities remain under documented. Lichen biodiversity assessments provide useful insights to better understand the functions supported by these ecologically important and sensitive species. This study aims i) to describe the conservation status of lichen communities and their α- and β-diversity components across a subarctic region in Northern Quebec (190 km 2 ), ii) to describe their functional traits across the habitat types found in this region, and iii) to identify habitat types constituting lichen biodiversity hotspots. Lichens were sampled in 45 plots in habitats ranging from coniferous and deciduous forests to bogs, fens and rocky outcrops. A total of 115 species of largely macrolichens, calicioid lichens and allied fungi were identified, of which 18% currently have ranks of conservation concern at the provincial level, and 38% are newly reported for the region (~124,000 km 2 around our study area). Richness across plots averaged 36 ± 9 species and plots richer in microhabitats often harbored more species (R 2 = 0.22). Differences in species composition were identified among plots and habitat types through NMDS and perMANOVA analyses (R 2 = 0.35; p < 0.001), both being supported by differences in microhabitat composition (Mantel r = 0.22 and perMANOVA R 2 = 0.29, respectively; p < 0.001). Thirty-five species showed significant preferences for a habitat based on the Pearson’s phi coefficient of association. Our analysis on functional traits revealed significant patterns of association with habitat types, including i) saxicolous species with rocky outcrops, ii) epiphytic/epixylic species and vegetative reproduction traits (soredia, isidia) with coniferous stands, and iii) species belonging to the Parmeliaceae family with fens. Rocky outcrops represented the main lichen biodiversity hotspots in the region, while other habitat types were also important for maintaining total and complementary biodiversity. We are confident that our methodological approach including systematic sampling, full habitat variability representation, and the evaluation of complementary biodiversity components, can be effectively applied to fill gaps on lichen biodiversity in other underexplored regions across the globe. Boreal forests Cryptogams Inconspicuous taxa Indicator species New records Similarity measures Species replacement Species turnover Unseen biodiversity Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Cerrejonetal.2024Suppmat.docx Cerrejón et al. 2024 - Supplementary material Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Jun, 2024 Read the published version in The Bryologist → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4686733","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":322730166,"identity":"a09fed05-8899-46bc-9a9d-71f6e4451b47","order_by":0,"name":"Carlos Cerrejón","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACxgNAQoafJD0gLTySDSRrMThArHL+9rMPDnz4Y8djfCP34GMeBht7glokzqQbHJzZlsxjdiMv2XAGQ1oiQQcaMKQxHOZtOADUkmMm8YHhcAJBWwz4nzEc5vlzgMd4Ro75jwSG/4QdZiABtIWH7QCPgUSOGcMHhgOMBB0mceMZA9gvEmfeGEvOMEgm7Bf+/jTGB8AQk+NvzzH8zFNhR9hh6O4kVcMoGAWjYBSMAqwAAE/3OCsAd9VeAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9401-503X","institution":"Universidad de Extremadura","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carlos","middleName":"","lastName":"Cerrejón","suffix":""},{"id":322730167,"identity":"550e864b-121b-415b-86c3-c61124538853","order_by":1,"name":"Osvaldo Valeria","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Osvaldo","middleName":"","lastName":"Valeria","suffix":""},{"id":322730168,"identity":"b8511899-906f-42a5-a925-50d872f6a5d0","order_by":2,"name":"Diane L. 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This is a significant issue in vast, isolated and harsh environment regions such as subarctic regions, where lichen communities remain under documented. Lichen biodiversity assessments provide useful insights to better understand the functions supported by these ecologically important and sensitive species. This study aims i) to describe the conservation status of lichen communities and their α- and β-diversity components across a subarctic region in Northern Quebec (190 km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e), ii) to describe their functional traits across the habitat types found in this region, and iii) to identify habitat types constituting lichen biodiversity hotspots. Lichens were sampled in 45 plots in habitats ranging from coniferous and deciduous forests to bogs, fens and rocky outcrops. 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