Habitat in Dead branches?

[Fungus]

which addresses the question in an indirect but entirely valid way: Reindeer moss. This lichen is able to live and multiply in areas where ground development is limited by consumption. Taking years to develop into large masses, the now brittle dead wood will snap from wind or snow load. The nutrient rich lichen is then able to be utilized by many ground-based organisms which are "essential" to the forest.

 

Wow , that's some impressive short short short list of lichens depending on branches high up on trees, which only includes one genus and doesn't mention the "Old man's beards" (Usnea spp.), which just as much depend on branches of trees on which they only thrive and survive under moist clean air conditions.

For your information, in The Netherlands the presence or absence of certain species of lichens is used as a bio-indicator for air pollution and more specific - together with certain species of (ectomycorrhizal) macrofungi - for the level of acidification an/or nitrification of the environment.

How about contributing to your own thread by providing us ignorants with an entirely valid complete list of all the lichens and mosses (bryophytes : 12.000 species worldwide) living high up on branches of trees then and with the outcomes of your own research on the subject of organisms depending on the canopies of trees instead of "google shopping" for information you fail to understand or are unable of interpreting correctly !?

And if you can tell me, which 3 species of lichens and 2 species of mosses live on this thin "airborne" branch of Sambucus nigra, you're my champ forever !

---

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

A friend related this, which addresses the question in an indirect but entirely valid way:

 

In our area of high and dry Ponderosa forests, one of the uses of dead limbs on these trees is the foundation for the development of reindeer moss.

 

Reindeer moss

 

This lichen is able to live and multiply in areas where ground development is limited by consumption. Taking years to develop into large masses, the now brittle dead wood will snap from wind or snow load. The nutrient rich lichen is then able to be utilized by many ground-based organisms which are "essential" to the forest.

 

The contribution lichens make to nutrient potential of soils is covered by a few people, even proven that they sequester atmoshperic N and thereby bring in nutrients to a system that otherwise may not have such an abundance of N.

 

Its an interesting topic but i dont have accses to papers on it right now so difficult to get scientifically minded about it.

[Fungus]

The contribution lichens make to nutrient potential of soils is covered by a few people ... i dont have access to papers on it right now

 

Tony,

Wouldn't that also be another subject suited for further valid and factual exploration and documentation by treeseer arborist Guy Meilleur ?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Tony,

Wouldn't that also be another subject suited for further valid and factual exploration and documentation by treeseer arborist Guy Meilleur ?

 

it would, but isnt he asking us for the answers to his questions? isnt it that he wants us to furnish him with information?

[Fungus]

it would, but isnt he asking us for the answers to his questions? isnt it that he wants us to furnish him with information?

 

Which he then questions without accepting scientifically based knowledge of us poor ignorants for a fact or providing us with valid information, so I refrain from answering his questions from now on until he has contributed to his thread with extensive valid and factual scientific information himself.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Which he then questions without accepting scientifically based knowledge of us poor ignorants for a fact or providing us with valid information, so I refrain from answering his questions from now on until he has contributed to his thread with extensive valid and factual scientific information himself.

 

I dont like giving up, thats my trouble, always willing to give the benifit of the doubt, till its too painfull to bare!

 

They say ignorance is bliss... explains why i am such a chirpy chap:laugh1:

[Fungus]

There are some good studies into the ecology of many of your European red-listed saproxylic beetles, and certainly organisms like Violet Click beetle ~ Limoniscus violaceus ----

(Alexander, K 1988 'The Development of an Index of ecological continuity for deadwood associated beetles',

Alexander, K 1994 'The use of freshly downed timber by insects following the 1987 storm',

Alexander, K; Green, E; Key, R 1996 'The management of over mature tree populations for nature conservation - basic guidelines',

Fowles, A; Alexander, K; Key, R 1999 'The saproxylic quality index:evaluating wooded habitats for the conservation of deadwoodcleoptera'

Green, E 1996 'Deadwood for wildlife'

Lonsdale, D; Fry, R 1991 'Habitat conservation for insects - a neglected green issue'

Read, H 2000 'Veteran trees: a guide to good management

(and yes I have corresponded with almost all those authors over the past four years)

Ulyshen, M; Hanula, J 2008 'Habitat associations of saproxylic beetles in the southeast United States: A comparison of forest types, tree species and wood postures'

Drapeau, P; Nappi, A; Imbeau, L; Saint-Germain, M 2009 'Standing deadwood for keystone bird species in the eastern boreal forest: Managing for snag dynamics'

Sobek, S; Steffan-Dewenter, I; Scherber, C; Tscharntke, T 2009 'Spatiotemporal changes of beetle communities across tree diversity gradient'

Sirami, C; Jay-Robert, P; Brustel, H; Valladares, L et al 2008 'Saproxylic beetle assemblages of old Holm-Oak trees in teh mediterranean region: role of keystone structure in a changing heterogeneous landscape

Bishop, D; Majka, C; Bondrup-Nielson, S; Peck, S 2009 Deadwood and saproxylic beetle diversity in naturally disturbed and managed spruce forests in Nova Scotia

CRC (Australia) for tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management 2001 Rainforest beetles in deadwood could loggin be their downfall?

Yee, M (Part of Thesis Uni Tasmania) 2009 'Biodiversity and ecology of log dependant beetles native to Tasmanian wet eucalypt forests: implications for their conservation in production forests

Ducasse, J; Brustel, H 2008 'Saproxylic beetles in the Gresigne forest management

Kirby, P 2001 'Wimpole Park saproxylic beetle survey'

Alexander, K 2008 'Tree biology and saproxylic coleoptera: issues of definitions and conservation language'

Jurc, M; Ogris, N; Pavlin, R; Borkovic, D 2008 'Forest as a habitat of saproxylic beetles on Natura 2000 sites in Slovenia'

Grove, S 2009 'A decade of deadwoodology at Warra'

Wardlaw, T; Grove, S et al 2009 'The uniqueness of habitats in old eucalypts; contrasting wood decay fungi and saproxylic beetles of young and old Eucalypts'

Grove, S et al 2008 'Long term experimental study of saproxylic beetle succession in Tasmanian E. obliqua logs: findings from teh first five years'

Yee, M et al 2006 'Brown rot in inner heartwood: why large logs support characteristic saproxylic beetle assemblages of conservation concern'

Johansson, T 2006 Thesis - The conservation of saproxylic beetles in boreal forest: importance of forest management and deadwood characteristics'

I have communicated with all the Australian authors and their supervisors (in the case of the published thesis) but not with the overseas authors in this 2nd list.

 

Sean,

There a lot of scientifically based documentation on this subject in Dutch, French and German too. And are you familiar with the research (dissertation) done on the complete dependence of species of beetles on brackets (and other FB's) of macrofungi for food and reproductive purposes by Georg Christian Möller ?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Thank you for this gerrit, it will be a long process translating it, but im sure it will be worth it!

[sean freeman]

Sean,

There a lot of scientifically based documentation on this subject in Dutch, French and German too. And are you familiar with the research (dissertation) done on the complete dependence of species of beetles on brackets (and other FB's) of macrofungi for food and reproductive purposes by Georg Christian Möller ?

 

No Gerrit I am not familiar with that dissertation, thankyou for the link.

 

I want to thank Guy for highlighting an area of woodland ecology that I had completely brushed past (lierally as well as figuratively)...Epiphytic lichens abd bryophytes...:sneaky2:argh! another massive list of papers to struggle through and new researchers to introduce myself to and win over to giving of their time and thoughts.

 

I suppose that I started with a focus on saproxylic beetles and the fungi that many of them seem to have associations with because that was (and still is) the main focus of the research being done here in Oz that (seemed to me)related to the topic of deadwood habitats in older tree species.

 

There is an unwillingness here to accept the value of research from overseas in this field of woodland/forest ecology, so finding parallels in Aussie research is really important if you want to be even listened to, let alone be taken seriously.

 

The recognition of the importance of deadwood habitats both in the trees and on the ground is enshrined in Federal, State and (some) local government documentation highlighting key ecological values and expressing the need to act (without providing any real direction as to how such action might be manifest). NB - I was NOT trying to imply that our government bodies think aerial deadwood is special in anyway -

 

In this regard (looking from the outside at least) the European legislative record is somewhat better, the Red Book has enabled many levels of government to develop local/regional action plans. Some of these are specific to classes of organisms and even down to a individual species, we are yet to move much beyond the furry cute organisms here.

 

The published papers I have from US forestry journals suggests to me that similar considerations of deadwood habitat values (almost exclusively standing stags and logs on ground) is something recognised by environmental scientists in commercial forestry there too.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

If you want endangered species on branches look to the lichenised fungi, and trees with durable heartwoods and long standing deadwood substrate like Oak.

 

I want to thank Guy for highlighting an area of woodland ecology that I had completely brushed past (lierally as well as figuratively)...Epiphytic lichens abd bryophytes...:sneaky2:argh! another massive list of papers to struggle through and new researchers to introduce myself to and win over to giving of their time and thoughts.

 

Thats a bit orff old boy!

 

 

 

A conservation overview of Australian non-marine lichens, bryophytes, algae and fungi - Fungi

 

Non-vascular plants & fungi - Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust - Sydney, Australia