The Lichen Flora on Quercus in the Tamentout Forest of Algeria

Abstract

Lichens are major components of forest ecosystems. However, their accurate identification at species level is often difficult, especially in poorly investigated areas. The objective of this study is an inventory of epiphytic lichens in the Tamentout Forest on three types of phorophytes, Quercus faginea, Q. suber and Q. ilex. In this region, 68 epiphytic lichen species have been identified, belonging to 23 families and 36 genera. The specific richness on the three phorophytes was different. Quercus suber, the dominant phorophyte, supports the highest number of species compared to Q. faginea, and Q. ilex. An analysis of growth forms shows that all are represented in the study area. However, crustose and foliose lichens are the most common ones. As a result of our inventory, we report Parmeliella testacea new to Algeria, and list 20 lichen species now protected by Algerian legislation.