New data on lichens from Salair province in Altaisky krai (Siberia, Russia)

In terms of lichens, Salair region is the least studied area of Altaisky krai, with as few as five species being reported from the territory, whereas Salair Range within Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions was well investigated lichenologically. The first data on lichens of Salair province in Altaisky krai are presented: ninety six mostly corticolous and lignicolous lichen species and two non-lichenized fungi traditionally treated with lichens (Phaeocalicium polyporaeum и Schizoxylon albescens) are recorded from Abies sibirica – Populus tremula tall grass forests of Zalesovsky Reserve. Among them, Acrocordia cavata and Phaeocalicium polyporaeum are new records for Siberia. Fuscidea pusilla and Bacidina delicata are new for South and West Siberia respectively. Eighteen species are new for Altaisky krai: Absconditella delutula, Arthonia apatetica, Bacidia circumspecta, B. igniarii, B. incompta, B. polychroa, B. subincompta, Biatora efflorescens, Calicium denigratum, Melanelixia fuliginosa ssp. glabratula, Micarea lignaria, Mycobilimbia epixanthoides, Pertusaria hemisphaerica, P. leioplaca, Placynthiella dasaea, Pseudoschismatomma rufescens, Rinodina efflorescens, and Xanthomendoza fulva. Most recorded species are epiphytes, because the ground is almost completely covered by vegetation dominated by tall grasses and forbs; stones were not found. “Calicioid lichens” – three Calicium and four Chaenotheca species, which are well-known as markers of ecological continuity in forest communities, are relatively diverse and abundant. Several other species, e. g. Absconditella delutula, Acrocordia cavata, Arthonia apatetica, Bacidia spp., Collema furfuraceum, Lobaria pulmonaria, Ramalina spp. are also characteristic for old-growth biologically valuable forests in Altaisky krai. One species – Lobaria pulmonaria – is included in the Red Data Book of Russia, and another species – Ramalina roesleri – in the Red Data Book of Altaisky krai. It is strongly recommended to maintain the special protection regime and exclude felling of the forest in Zalesovsky reserve.


Introduction
Altaisky krai (Altai Territory) is a large (169,100 km 2 ) administrative area within the Russian Federation, located at the southern part of West Siberia, between 50º and 55ºN and 77º and 87ºE. The area is situated in the place of a contact of the southeastern part of the West-Siberian Plain and the Altai Mountains. It lies between 79 and 2490 m above sea level. A wide range of vegetation types such as semideserts, steppes, forest-steppes, taiga and high mountain types of vegetation are represented in Altaisky krai. More than 60 % of plains are ploughed up by agrocommunities.
Altaisky krai is divided into 8 biogeographical regions (Silantieva, 2006), 7 of which (all apart from the Ob' bottomland) were accepted by us (Davydov, 2014;see Fig. 1). One of them, Salair region, is situated in the North of Altaisky krai. Salair Ridge is an eroded plateau-type highland ca. 300 km in length and 15-40 km wide. It is a natural continuation of Altai Mountains separating the Kuznetsk Depression from the Ob' River Plain. The native vegetation of Salair Ridge is Abies sibirica tall grass forests. Nowadays the territory is mostly covered by the secondary Betula pendula or Populus tremula forests.
In spite of the fact that lichen biota of some regions is poorly investigated, it is clear that South Siberia is a major center of lichen diversity in North Asia. The main goal of the study is to contribute to the knowledge of lichen diversity in Salair region within Altaisky krai. The study is based on collections made by the authors in Zalesovsky reserve in 2012 and 2014.

Material and methods
Zalesovsky reserve (zakaznik) is situated in the north-eastern part of Altaisky krai in the forest zone of Salair Ridge within the Berd' River basin. The regional climate is strongly continental with a mean annual temperature of +1.7 °C. The minimum temperature is -50 ºС, maximum temperature +37 °C, mean temperature of the coldest month (January) ca -17 ºС, and that of the warmest month (July) ca +18 ºС. The terrain is gently rugged, eroded, with flat and convex watershed areas dissected by a dense network of valleys and small ravines descending down to a depth of 100-200 m. The territory lies 400-600 m above sea level. The main vegetation type is subnemoral Abies sibirica-Populus tremula forests. The undergrowth is represented by Sorbus sibirica and Padus avium, the shrub layerby Crataegus sanguinea, Viburnum opulus, Ribes spicata, and Rubus idaeus (Fig. 2). The herbaceous layer is well developed consisting of ferns and tall grasses, including Dactylis glomerata and Festuca gigantea, and the forbs Aconitum septentrionale, Angelica decurrens, and Paeonia anomala (Shmakov et al., 2009). Zalesovsky reserve includes relatively small and highly fragmented territories, covering in total about 40-50 km 2 within the Salair province. Old-growth forests, which have never been cut down, have survived only within the territory of the reserve. These habitats were the focus of the present investigation.
Herbarium specimens were collected by the authors during 2012 and 2014 from the following collecting sites (WGS 84 system was used for geographical GPS coordinates): 1  Samples were collected from the bark of living trees and from dead wood: standing dead trees (snags), fallen logs, branches and stumps. Voucher specimens are deposited in ALTB. Morphological and anatomical characters were analyzed by applying standard methods of light microscopy. Chemical analyses of secondary products were made using standard thin-layer chromatography (TLC) techniques (Culberson, Kristinsson, 1970). Species reported for the first time for Siberia or its major geographical subdivisions are marked with (!!) and for Altaisky krai with (!). Non-lichenized fungi traditionally treated with lichens are marked (+) (this only applies to Phaeocalicium polyporaeum).
The Russian distribution and/or short taxonomic notes are provided only for rare or otherwise interesting species.

Results and discussion
The list includes 98 species collected from the relatively small area which belongs to the Zalesovsky Reserve. Most species are epiphytes, because the ground is almost completely covered by vegetation dominated by tall grasses and forbs; stones were not found. "Calicioid lichens" -three Calicium and four Chaenotheca species, which are wellknown markers of ecological continuity in forest communities, are relatively diverse and abundant. Several other species, e. g. Absconditella delutula, Acrocordia cavata, Arthonia apatetica, Bacidia spp., Collema furfuraceum, Lobaria pulmonaria, Ramalina spp. are also characteristic for old-growth biologically valuable forests in Altaisky krai. One species -Lobaria pulmonaria -is included in the Red Data Book of Russia (Istomina, 2008), and another species -Ramalina roesleri -in the Red Data Book of Altaisky krai (Davydov, 2016). It is strongly recommended to maintain its special protection and exclude felling of the forest in the Zalesovsky reserve.
note: This rare and very inconspicuous species can grow on rotten wood, bark and soil. The thallus forms a glossy, greenish film on the substratum. This species is closely related to Absconditella lignicola and differs by its 3-septate ascospores and slightly larger apothecia.
Additional Belgorod region (Konoreva, Muchnik, 2005), European part of Russia (Muchnik, 2005;Notov et al., 2011), Caucasus (Ismailov, Urbanavichus, 2013), and East Siberia (Urbanavichene, Urbanavichus, 2009. note: Not rare, but an often overlooked, boreal species, with a wide-spreading, pale green leprose thallus and small, pale-pink apothecia with thinly needle-shaped, 3-7 septate ascospores. This is a new record for West Siberia. note: This is not rare, but is an often overlooked species with a scattered distribution throughout the boreal zone. It is characterized by having 0.7-1.3 mm tall, shiny black ascomata, the absence of pruina, and having a bell-shaped capitulum. At sites where the species has been collected in Europe, Siberia and North America, it occurs in open canopy woodlands on the Plains and in forest belt of Mountains (McMullin et al., 2012). !!Fuscidea pusilla Tønsberg -on dry tree; collecting site: 2, coll. Davydov 10603, Konoreva.
tLC: divaricatic acid. note: This species is characterized by having small dark-green circular thalli with a blackish hypothallus, initially well-separated soralia, later coalescing and the presence of divaricatic acid. Russian distRibution: The species was previously reported from the area by Vondrák et al. (2016). Additionally, the species was recorded from Sayan Mountains and Far East -Sikhote-Alin Ridge and Kamchatka (ibid).
note: The species is characterized by having a thick, distinctly cracked thallus with yellow soralia, apothecia 0.5-1 mm diam. with brown to dark brown disc and broadly ellipsoid to almost spherical ascospores. This species is closely related to Caloplaca oxneri has been recently described from Russian Far East (Kondratyuk et al., 2011) and is associated with humid taiga forests from Siberia and the Far East.
Russian distRibution: A boreal species with a scattered distribution; common in humid lowland forests in Caucasus, Far East of Asia, and in North America, relatively rare in Europe, recorded in Romania (locus classicus) and the north of European Russia (Titov, 2006). This is a new record for Siberia.
note: The species is characterized by having 2-celulled hyaline ascospores and its specialised substrate -polypore fungi.