The Nature Conservancy Discovers Three New Species of Lichen, One Fungus in the Ozarks

ST. LOUIS — September 4, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy’s Doug Ladd, working with a team of scientists from the New York Botanical Garden, recently discovered three new species of lichen and one species of fungus in the Ozarks. Three of these species were so different from their nearest relatives that each was classified in its own new genus. This discovery followed a 10-year Ozark lichen study partially funded by the National Science Foundation; it reinforces the biological importance of this unique region.

The three genera and species of lichens, Pachyphysis ozarkana, Phoebus hydrophobius and Xyleborus sporodochifer and one lichenicolous fungus, Opergrapha diffractiola, are described as new to science in a recent paper authored by Ladd, director of conservation science in Missouri, and Richard Harris, a researcher at the New York Botanical Garden and considered a premier lichenologist in North America. The organisms are widely distributed throughout the Ozark Highlands, a region that covers large portions of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, and smaller areas of southeastern Kansas and southwestern Illinois. While each species was initially discovered within the Ozark region, all were found to occur outside the Ozarks as well, usually to the south and west of the region.

“It demonstrates just how little we know about what’s right under our feet,” said Ladd, who predicts that up to 50 new species may be identified as a result of this study. “Every species plays an integral part in the ecosystem. As conservationists, the more we know about the diversity of life around us, the better equipped we are to make the right decisions on the ground for every species,” Ladd said.

Lichens are an abundant and pervasive component of the Ozark landscape and virtually every major landscape in the world. The hardy little organisms, responsible for most of the coloring that can be seen on rocks, cliffs sides and tree trunks, are capable of growing in fresh water, salt water, deserts, tropical forests, alpine summits and even in Antarctica. Despite their widespread distribution and abundance, much about the diversity and habitats of lichens is unknown, due in part to a lack of adequate field work, especially in the Midwest and Great Plains.

What is known is that lichens are an important part of a healthy habitat. Locally, deer eat small quantities of lichen when food supplies are low in the winter, and many birds such as the ruby-throated hummingbird, eastern wood-pewee and blue-gray gnatcatcher use lichens for nest building. Lichens play a crucial role in mineral nutrient cycling in many forests, and some are even capable of using, or “fixing” atmospheric nitrogen, a rare ability to take nitrogen gas from the air and turn it into a usable compound in the soil. Additionally, lichens are extremely sensitive to air pollution. Lichen populations are observed in the Ozarks and throughout the world to monitor and assess air quality.

The Ozarks are an unglaciated landscape dating back 1.5 billion years. Once a tall volcanic mountain range, a billion years of erosion has worn the Ozarks down to the rounded knobs that most Americans associate with the popular vacation and outdoor recreation area. Nine hundred million years ago most of the surrounding area was covered in shallow seas. However, parts of the Ozarks have been continuously exposed for more than 225 million years, making them among the oldest continuously inhabitable landscape for plant and animal species in the central United States.

The Ozarks are home to 407 species targeted by the Conservancy and other agencies for conservation, with more than 160 species that are endemic, occurring nowhere else in the world. These Ozarks provide critical habitat for neotropical migratory birds, and a number of rare fish species. Nearly 500 species of lichen can be found in the Ozarks, many of which are unique to the Ozark landscape. Critical ecological threats to the Ozarks include: suppression of naturally occurring fires, altered water flows, loss of forest and woodlands, changes in water quality and unsustainable development.

Today, in the Ozarks there is a growing pressure in favor of inappropriate development or damaging land management practices. If this continues at the present rate, these watersheds will be irreparably degraded within the next 10 to 20 years. Research projects such as the Ozark lichen study help not only to identify the variety and abundance of species in the Ozarks, but help to build a complete picture of our global ecological landscape, and allow for the implementation of effective conservation of our natural heritage.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

Together with our members and conservation partners, The Nature Conservancy in Missouri has protected more than 138,000 acres of critical natural lands since 1956. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/missouri.

The Nature Conservancy Discovers Three New Species of Lichen, One Fungus in the Ozarks

One of the new species - Phoebus hydrophobius Photo © Richard Harris