The lichens of the Majella National Park (Central Italy): an annotated checklist

• Published in: MycoKeys (Sofia, Bulgaria) Vol. 78; pp. 119 - 168
• Main Authors: Gheza, Gabriele, Nuzzo, Luca Di, Vallese, Chiara, Benesperi, Renato, Bianchi, Elisabetta, Cecco, Valter Di, Martino, Luciano Di, Giordani, Paolo, Hafellner, Josef, Mayrhofer, Helmut, Nimis, Pier Luigi, Tretiach, Mauro, Nascimbene, Juri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 29-03-2021
• Subjects: Ascomycota; Catalogues and Checklists; Checklist; Lichenized Fungi; Southern Europe and Mediterranean; Abruzzo; arctic-alpine species; steppic species; lichen biota; biodiversity hotspot; Mediterranean mountains; climate change
• ISSN: 1314-4057; 1314-4049
• DOI: 10.3897/MYCOKEYS.78.62362

The botanical exploration of the Majella National Park has a long tradition dating back to the eighteenth century. However, the lichen biota of this area is still poorly investigated. To provide a baseline for future investigations, in this annotated checklist, we summarised all available information on the occurrence of lichens in the Majella National Park, retrieved from previous literature, herbarium material and original data produced by recent research. The checklist includes 342 infrageneric taxa. However, seven taxa are considered as dubious, thus setting the number of accepted taxa at 335, i.e. 45.8% of those currently known to occur in the Abruzzo Region. This checklist provides a baseline of the lichens known to occur in the Majella National Park, highlighting the potential of this area as a hotspot of lichen biodiversity, especially from a biogeographical point of view as indicated by the occurrence of several arctic-alpine species that form disjunct populations in the summit area of the massif.